The Violence of the New Rwandan Regime 1994-1995

The violence of the new rwandan regime 1994-1995

MSF SPEAKS OUT MSF Speaks Out

In the same collection, “MSF Speaking Out”:

- “Salvadoran refugee camps in Honduras 1988” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [October 2003 - April 2004]

- “Genocide of Rwandan Tutsis 1994” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [October 2003 - April 2004]

- “Rwandan refugee camps Zaire and Tanzania 1994-1995” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [October 2003 - April 2004]

- “Hunting and killings of Rwandan Refugee in Zaire-Congo 1996-1997” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [August 2004]

- ‘’Famine and forced relocations in Ethiopia 1984-1986” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [January 2005 - November 2013]

- “Violence against Kosovar Albanians, NATO’s Intervention 1998-1999” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [September 2006]

- “MSF and North Korea 1995-1998” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [January 2008]

- “War Crimes and Politics of Terror in Chechnya 1994-2004” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [June 2010]

- “Somalia 1991-1993: Civil War, Famine Alert and UN “Humanitarian-Military” Intervention” Laurence Binet - Médecins Sans Frontières [October 2013]

Editorial Committee: Laurence Binet, Jean-Marc Biquet, Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, Michiel Hofman, Fiona Terry, Rafa Vilasanjuan - Director of Studies (project coordination - research - interviews - editing): Laurence Binet - Transcription of interviews: Laurence Binet, Françoise Courteville, Pascale Donati - Translation from French into English: Leah Brumer, Alison Marshner - Proof reading: Fiona Terry - Design/layout: - Video research: Céline Zigo - Video editing: Sara Mac Leod - Website designer: Sean Brokenshire.

Thanks to Rony Brauman and Marc Le Pape for their advice.

Produced by the Médecins Sans Frontières International Movement MSF Australia is in charge of the design, running, update, and promotion strategy of the website http://speakingout.msf.org

2 © Médecins Sans Frontières. April 2004 - April 2014. FOREWORD

This publication is part of the “Médecins Sans Frontières Speaking Out” case studies series prepared in response to

the MSF International Council’s wish to provide the movement with literature on MSF témoignage (advocacy). The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995

The idea was to create a reference document that would be straightforward and accessible to all and help volunteers understand and adopt the organization’s culture of speaking out.

It was not to be an ideological manual or a set of guidelines. Témoignage cannot be reduced to a mechanical applica- tion of rules and procedures as it involves an understanding of the dilemmas inherent in every instance of humanitarian action.

The International Council assigned the project to a director of studies, who in turn works with an editorial committee composed of MSF representatives chosen by the International Board for their experience and expertise. They serve in their capacity as individuals and do not represent their national sections.

Faced with the difficulty of defining the term témoignage, the editorial committee decided to focus the series on case studies in which speaking out posed a dilemma for MSF and thus meant taking a risk.

Key information sources -MSF volunteers’ written and oral recollections — are reconstructed by highlighting documents from the period concerned and interviewing the main actors.

The individuals interviewed are chosen from lists prepared by the operational sections involved in each case. Speaking in the language they choose, these individuals offer both their account of events and their assessment of MSF’s response. The interviews are recorded and transcribed.

Document searches are conducted in the operational sections’ archives and, as far as possible, press archives.

The research is constrained by practical and financial issues, including locating interviewees and securing their agreement and determining the existence, quality and quantity of archived materials.

The methodology aims at establishing the facts and setting out a chronological presentation of the positions adopted at the time. It enables the reconstruction of debates and dilemmas without pre-judging the quality of the decisions made.

The main text describes events in chronological order. It includes excerpts from documents and interviews, linked by brief introductions and transitional passages. We rely on document extracts to establish the facts as MSF described and perceived them at the time. When documentation is missing, interviews sometimes fill the gaps. These accounts also provide a human perspective on the events and insight into the key players’ analyses.

Preceding the main texts collected, the reader will find a map, a list of abbreviations and an introduction that lays out the context of MSF’s public statements and the key dilemmas they sought to address.

In addition, a detailed chronology reconstructs MSF’s actions and public statements in regional and international news reports of the period.

3 MSF Speaks Out

Each case study was written in French and translated into English and is available in both languages.1

These case studies were essentially designed as an educational tool for associative members of the organisation. With the hope of broadening their educational scope the studies are now being made available to the public for free, on the website www.speakingout.msf.org, the various English and French-language websites of individual sections of Médecins Sans Frontières, and on Google Book.

We hope you find them useful.

The Editorial Committee.

September 2013

4 1. Document excerpts and interviews have been translated into both languages. CONTENTS

Abbreviations ...... page 6

Map ...... page 7 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995

Introduction ...... page 8

People interviewed and their position at the time of the events ...... page 10

Violence of the new Rwandan regime ...... page 13

Chronology of events April 1994-January 1996...... page 131

5 MSF Speaks Out

ABBREVIATIONS

ACF Action contre la faim RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front AFP Agence France Presse UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund AI Amnesty International UN United Nations EEC European Economic Community UNAMIR United Nations Assistance Mission CHK Centre hospitalier de Kigali for Rwanda (Kigali Hospital Center) UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner DHA Department of Humanitarian Affairs for Refugees (United Nations) UNREO United Nations Rwanda Emergency EU European Union Operation FAR Forces armées rwandaises WFP World Food Programme (Rwandan Armed Forces) SCF Save the Children Fund IFHRL International Federation of Human ZHS Zone humanitaire sure (Safe Rights Leagues humanitarian zone) HRWA Human Rights Watch ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross MSF B MSF Belgium IOM International Office of Migrations MSF CH MSF Switzerland MDM Médecins du Monde MSF F MSF France MILOBS Military Observers (United Nations) MSF H MSF Holland MINIREHAB Ministry of Rehabilitation (Rwanda) MSF S MSF Spain MINIREISO Ministry of Social Rehabilitation MSF UK MSF United Kingdom (Rwanda) MSF USA MSF United States of America MINISANTE Ministry of Health (Rwanda) NGO Non-Governmental Organization OAU Organisation of African Unity Sitrep Situation report, sent from the field RCN Rwanda Citizen Network or from the programme manager. RPA Rwandan Patriotic Army

Extract from MSF archives or press clippings. Extract from interviews conducted in 2000, 2001, 2002, and in 2003 with people who participated in and/or witnessed the events.

6 Click to access the reference material list. Then click on the refering number to access the video. The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995

MSF programme 1994-1995

7 MSF Speaks Out

Center of Kibeho camp Butare 2

1. UNAMIR barrack 1 2. UNAMIR barrack 2 3. Hospital n°1/MSF 4. Hospital n°2/MSF 5. Hospital n°3/MSF 6. MSF office 7. ICRC Food distribution area

5 4

6 7

1 Gikongoro

8 INTRODUCTION

On 6 April 1994, the plane carrying the Rwandan President was shot down as it approached Kigali. The slaughter of the Tutsi minority commenced in the days that followed. Simultaneously, leaders of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), an opposition movement organized by Tutsi exiles in Uganda, launched The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 a military offensive in Rwanda and seized power in Kigali in early July.

From April to July 1994, between 500,000 and one million Rwandan Tutsi were systematically extermi- nated by militiamen under Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR in French) control. The genocide was the outcome of long-standing strategies implemented by politico-military extremists who roused ethnic resentments against the Tutsi minority. The extremists also killed many Rwandan Hutu who opposed the massacres.

Fleeing the advancing RPF, the authors of the genocide compelled hundreds of thousands of Rwandans to accompany them towards Rwanda’s borders by threats and the influence of their propaganda. The first wave of Hutu arrived in Tanzania in May. In June, a second wave fled to the ‘safe humanitarian zone’, created by the French army in southwest Rwanda under Operation Turquoise (23 June – 21 August), and then sought refuge in Zaire. The leaders imposed totalitarian control over the refugee camps and used them as a rear base from which to pursue their plan to return to Rwanda and complete the genocide.

From the moment the RPF took control, Médecins Sans Frontières’ teams witnessed abuses and brutali- ties committed by the administration and armed forces, particularly against displaced populations and the hundreds of thousands of detainees crammed into prisons. Prisoners were dying at an alarming rate while awaiting trials that were endlessly delayed by the paralysis of the judiciary system. The violence increased in the months that followed, and rumours about the brutal behaviour of the new regime were corroborated by reports produced by human rights organisations.

In April 1995, an MSF team witnessed the Rwandan army’s deliberate massacre of over 4,000 displaced people in the Kibeho camp in southwest Rwanda. MSF spoke out publicly to denounce the killing and produced a report based on the eyewitness accounts of its volunteers. The report documented the extent of the massacre, and differed greatly from the dismissive account prepared by an international commission of enquiry into what had occurred.

Médecins Sans Frontières again spoke out publicly in July 1995, to criticise the inhuman conditions in which detainees in Gitarama prison were being held and to call for improvements. This stance was backed by medical data collected by MSF volunteers.

In December 1995 the French section of Médecins Sans Frontières was expelled from Rwanda. The whole MSF movement regarded this move as a settling of scores by the Rwandan Government given that it was volunteers of the French section that had directly witnessed events at Kibeho and had initiated the public denunciations.

9 MSF Speaks Out

Médecins Sans Frontières public pronouncements were the result of choices made after considering several dilemmas:

- Was it acceptable for Médecins Sans Frontières, having denounced the génocidaires’control over the Rwandan refugees in Zaire and Tanzania, to encourage the return of refugees to Rwanda, given the insecurity that poten- tially awaited them? Did MSF have a responsibility to alert them to what was occurring in Rwanda?

- Could Médecins Sans Frontières – after having issued a call for an international armed intervention to put an end to the genocide – now criticise the regime that had effectively done so, thereby risking accusations of favouring the génocidaires and supporting the revisionists?

- Should Médecins Sans Frontières keep silent in order to continue caring for detainees who might otherwise die in the appalling prison conditions?

10 PEOPLE INTERVIEWED AND THEIR POSITION AT THE TIME OF THE EVENTS INTERVIEWS CONDUCTED IN 2000 AND 2002

Dr. Philippe Biberson MSF France President The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 Samantha Bolton MSF International press officer, East Africa, 1994-1995 Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier MSF legal adviser Dr. Dominique Boutriau MSF Belgium programme manager Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol MSF France programme manager Dr. Eric Goemaere MSF Belgium General Director Dr. […] MSF Belgium programme manager, then director of operations Anne Guibert MSF France communications officer on mission in Rwanda, April 1995 Dr. Pierre Harzé Director of communications, MSF Belgium until November 1994 Dr. Barbara Kerstiens MSF Belgium coordinator in Rwanda, September 1994 to March 1995 […] MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 […] MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 Dr. Didier Laureillard MSF France physician, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 Dr. Jacques de Milliano MSF Holland General director Catherine Quillet MSF France field coordinator, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994 to May 1995 Nicolas de Torrente MSF France coordinator in Rwanda, from August 1994 to March 1995 Wouter Van Empelen MSF Holland programme manager Dr. Arnaud Veisse MSF France physician, Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994 to June 1995

matic abuses’ (HRW). populations, althoughtherearereportsoflesssyste- the RPFisengagedinwidespreadslaughterofcivilian cide] (AI)and‘thatthereisnocredibleevidencethat killings arenotaswidespreadthose[ofthegeno- supporters’ AI).Bothemphasised,however,‘thatthe and arbitrarykillingsperpetratedbytheRPFits the RwandanPatrioticFront’(HRW)and‘deliberate then underway.Thereportsalsoreferredto‘abusesby International (AI), published reports on the genocide tions, HumanRightsWatchAfrica(HRW)andAmnesty In May1994,twointernationalhumanrightsorganisa- effectively putting an end tothegenocide. equipped FARandtookcontrolofKigalion4July, rapidly gainedterritoryagainstthelargerandbetter was stationed under the Arusha peace accords. The RPF north, andfromKigaliwherea600-strongbattalion the genocidestarted,theyinvadedRwandafrom been leading a war of territorial conquest. As soon as nantly TutsirebelorganisationbasedinUganda,had Since 1987,theRwandanPatrioticFront,apredomi- Armed Forces (FAR in French). citizens andplacedunderthecontrolofRwandan by militiasrecruitedfromamongordinaryRwandan and closetothegoverningregime.Itwascarriedout genocide wasplannedandorganisedbyextremistsin were RwandanHutuwhoopposedthemassacres.The and one million Rwandan Tutsi were murdered, as From earlyApriltomid-July1994,between500,000 -1995 1994 REGIME RWANDAN NEW THE OF VIOLENCE THE In other cases, church sources report that refugees at reports of lesssystematic abuses… pread slaughterofcivilianpopulations, althoughthereare credible evidence that the RPF has engaged in any wides - Watch/Africa has concluded that there is at present no vernmental organisations, and journalists, Human Rights Rwandan andforeign,representing clergy,staffofnongo- After extensive investigation among reliablesources, both 1.1 Abusesby the RwandanPatriotic Front Extract: Rwanda: April-May1994’May1994(inEnglish). Human RightsWatchAfrica,‘Genocidein civilians who appeartohave been militialeaders. Watch/ Africa that they have seen RPF soldiers execute the story. Other reliable sourceshave told Human Rights death. Aphotographoftheapparentvictimaccompanied delivered himtoanyangrycrowdwhohadkicked being alocalleaderoftheInterahamwemilitiaandhad related that RPF soldiers had tied up a person accused of A newspaper accountpublished in Uganda in late April had summoned to ameeting. by the RPF when the soldiers attacked people whom they ness reportedthathiswifeandchildrenhadbeenkilled old daughtertodeathwiththeirriflebutts.Anotherwit- recounted that RPFsoldiers had beaten hertwelve year- from Rwantanga, a woman who arrived badly beaten, and atNyambwesongezi,inByumbaprefecture.Awitness Rwantanga, sevenkilometresfromtheUgandanborder, a campinUgandarelatethattheRPFkilledciviliansat his organisation’s soldierskilledInterahamwe militiamen is saidtohave declaredinthepressApril 1994that dly died while beggingfor his life. One oftheRPF leaders killed bybeingkickedinthe headandchest.Hereporte- their back above the elbows. One of the prisoners (?) was Kandoya or “three links”: the victim’s arms are tied behind and tiedupbythesamemethod usedinUganda,knownas presumed Interahamwe members were captured by the RPF 6 April.Aroundmid-April1994,anunconfirmednumberof arbitrary homicideswerecommittedbyRPFsoldiersfrom came inmostlylastweeksuggestingthatintentionaland rous asthosementionedabove[genocide]…Information for thesehomicides,whichwerenot,however,asnume - RPF control. RPF soldiers and some civilians were blamed mitted onpartisansofthegovernmentinregionsunder claims thatintentionalandarbitraryhomicideswerecom - government control,AmnestyInternationalreceived militia andotherpeopleinthezonetheoreticallyunder Apart fromthemassacrescommittedbysoldiers, RPF andits partisans. The intentionalandarbitrary homicides committedbythe Extract: English). national, London,23mai1994(inFrench -in country (april-mai1994)’AmnestyInter– ‘Rwanda: massacrescommittedinallthe

13 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

whenever they saw one. Amnesty International is concer- few contacts, and we sent in a mission as soon as we learned that the declaration, made by one of the leaders of ned that the area was under Rwandan control. There were the RPF, seemed to indicate that prisoners and militiamen three or four of us, following the victors. We were in an ideal may have been executed by this organisation in violation position to see what had happened. We were shocked. of the basic principles of humanitarian law. Dr. Pierre Harzé, Director of communications, MSF Belgium until November 1994 (in French).

In early June 1994, MSF Belgium announced to the press that it was opening programs in Nyamata, Bugesera (south-west) region, and Kigali and reminded From late May and early June 1994, MSF Belgium teams the media that MSF had been present in the northern were subject to violent and arbitrary behaviour by Rwanda displaced persons camps in Gitare and Byumba representatives of Rwanda’s new regime. In the nor- for several weeks. thern part of the country, one of the first regions to be retaken by the RPF, the Byumba team noticed that local populations had been chased out of their houses and crammed into camps, while the new regime’s elites occupied their homes. ‘MSF Initiates Mission in Nyamata in the Bugesera Region,’ MSF Belgium Press Release, 3 June 1994 (in French).

Extract: ‘Rwandan Crisis Sitrep, June 28 - July 3 1994,’ From today, a three-person team – doctor, nurse and MSF Belgium team in Rwanda (in French). logistician/water and sanitation specialist – will be setting up operations in Nyamata in the Bugesera region. The Extract: team will care for 100 hospitalised patients, 50 of whom More and more questions have been raised about the sta- suffer from war wounds. The hospital was established in tus of civilian populations in the RPF zone. an orphanage that also houses 300 children. On Monday, - RPF pressure on the population is increasingly evident. the team will begin to evaluate the needs of the displaced People are afraid. Even our local personnel are subject to persons dispersed throughout the region and will provide considerable pressure. them with supplies. According to our team, some 20,000 - Displaced persons in the Kigali camps have indicated people need assistance. that the RPF separated the displaced Hutu from the others and then beat them to death. - There have been reports of many disappearances. - Populations are required to work without pay in the RPF’s various activities. It wants to control all activity in ‘Médecins Sans Frontières Sends Reinforcement the region. Team to Kigali,’ MSF Belgium Press Release, 7 - The teams talk about a ‘communist-style’ regime, to June 1994 (in French). quote their mildest comment. MSF will have to take a position on these issues in the Extract: coming days, but it is also clear that MSF is an important Today Médecins Sans Frontières sent an additional six-per- witness as we, along with the ICRC, are the only organi- son medical and surgical team from Nairobi to the Rwandan sation in the region. capital, Kigali. This team will assist civilian populations, establish health stations in four Kigali camps, and oversee water supplies, sanitary equipment and measles vaccina- tion. In addition, a cargo plane carrying eight tons of aid supplies and equipment has left Schipol airport for Kigali. MSF Belgium Coordinator in Rwanda, ‘Summary of incidents with RPF,’ MSF internal report, 9 July 1994 (in English).

Extract: When the Rwandans came from Uganda to take Kinazi: A displaced woman told Roger Job [a photographer power, they didn’t go straight to Kigali. They made on assignment with MSF] that two captains, Deogene and a detour along the Burundian border and back up Zigira, had come to the camp with heavy armed escort. towards Butare. From there they headed for the capital. I They selected a group of ‘undesirable persons’ and ordered had already made a short exploratory trip to Burundi to see the rest of the camp population to beat them with stones 14 whether you could cross the border. We had already made a till they were dead. The woman had seen it all. She, a Step bystepit became moreobviousthatMSF wasexpected ministers’ and ‘new mayors’ and were given nice houses. The Tutsieliteweresentto Byumbawerelabelled‘new interested in those people - the displaced were peasants. work in the displaced camps because they were not not wanted.TheRPFhadlittle interestinfacilitatingMSF’s get peopleout,checkthem, and eliminatethosewhowere what wasgoingonbutitseemedlikeaKhmerRougetactic: from theirhousesandscreened.Wedidn’tknowexactly camps of internally displaced - people that had been evicted there. Thiswasaproblemforusbecausetherewerehuge the RPFeliteandtheywantedaconcentrationofservices them off with trucks. It was clearly the new settlement for we left [August 1994]. closed the displaced persons’ camps around the same time superiors wereputtingpressureonhim.Intheend,they became irritatedandstartedspeakingfluentFrench!His English. Hebegantryingtocontradictme.Atonepointhe a weekweweregoingtowithdraw.Itoldhimallthisin were goingtocutbackourpresenceaminimumandin impossible forustounderstandwhytheyarehere.Sowe camps exist,butinthecontextofhumanitarianlogic,itis we mightbeabletounderstandwhythedisplacedpersons’ had cometotellhimthatinthecontextofmilitarylogic, nouncing thewords.Theverbatimwasdifficultbecausewe of garbled ‘kitchen table’ English. He had a hard time pro- forbidden tospeakFrenchinRwanda,sowespokeakind and hisFrenchisperfectlypolished.Butatthattimeitwas who wasstillinByumba.HetrainedLille,France us to build schools there. I met with the health officer, they intendedtokeepthecampsoperatingsinceasked camps, examineeachoneandbrainwashthem.Obviously, rators.’ Theirstrategywastogatheringallthepeoplein The stateofthecampswasnotwhatonewouldfrom‘libe- schools in thecamps.” Byumba!” Ianswered.“Yes,buttheysaythereshouldbe is important.”“Buttherearealreadyschoolsherein “They askedustobuildschoolsbecauseeducatingchildren placed camps ina ‘liberated’ zone?” The coordinator said, asked myself,“What’sgoingonhere?Whyaretheredis- farming’. university graduate,hadbeensenttothecamp‘tolearn from theHotelMilleCollinesandtheyweredropping being liberated from Kigali. They were bringing them In ByumbatheRPFhadevacuatedazoneforTutsi residents wereallHutupeasantsfromtheregion.I providing careinthedisplacedpersons’camps.The During myfirstvisittoByumba,theMSFteamwas Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director (in French).

arrests and executions. The MSFteamswitnesseddisappearances,summary into slave labour, being marched up and down. coffee plantations with undesirable people. People forced what was going to happen… Then we found camps in the of the whole area. We were obviously not going to support to run these camps. That was the first move to get us out seen. Eithertheywerenotallowedto,orable people nevercametothecampsagain. They’d neverbeen to Africare.TheygavetheimageofAfricacaring.Butthese running, but without any discussionthey gave the camps trained localstaffinsituandthelogisticlineswereup to anAfricanNGOwhooperatedfromUganda.Wehad After I arrived they had given the two or three major camps In thedisplacedcamps,theyplayedsomedirtytricksonus. elite and ordinary people. became clearthattherewasabigdistinctionbetweenthe by little were got into regularhealth care and then it hospital withwounds.ThenweweretreatingLittle to providetheirhealthcare.Atfirstpeoplecomethe The working atmosphere remains stressed. camps, physical harassment ofagirlin thehospitaletc. escorts, concerningmedicalethics,freemovementin were several small incidents between MSFB staff and RPF about the control the RPF is putting on them… There capable ofdoingsomething.Peoplearecomplaining We willmonitorthesituationclosely, but arenotreally by the RPF. being Interahamwe.Otherpeoplehavebeenintimidated three children,abouttwoweeksago.Theywereaccusedof Canissius, has been executed along with his wife and The formerdirectoroftheByumbahospital,Doctor Extract: […], MSF Belgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). Switzerland, and Luxembourg (in English). Kenya, andtoMSFFrance,Holland,Spain, MSF missionsinRwanda,Uganda,Burundiand 17 June1994.Thesitrepwastransmittedto 2 (marked‘confidential’)toMSFBelgiumdesk, MSF Belgium Coordinator in Rwanda, Sitrep no.

15 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

strange because other phones were working. We used the phone of ICRC in the end, calling by that phone. I have the MSF Belgium Coordinator in Rwanda ‘Summary slight impression that it was not by coincidence that the of incidents with RPF’, MSF internal report, 9 machine itself was working but the connection to the satel- July 1994 (in English). lite was interrupted all the time. So either it could not spot the satellite or the satellite did not accept it, or the land Extract: station could not be called. I think all that was manipulated Dr Emmanuel, surgeon in the MSFB supported hospital in by someone. There were only three medical relief organisa- Byumba, has received continued warnings and intimida- tions there. Some had problems but we were the most tions from the RPF. outspoken. He is scared but refuses to talk, because he fears that telling the problem to the white man will endanger him […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera more. He seems to have been part of prior mentioned (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English). opposition group. Information comes from a nurse in the same hospital. This nurse reports his findings to me concerning all irregularities in the Byumba region. He told me about the questioning of inpatients at gunpoint, the constant The teams had to work with armed escorts imposed by infiltration of armed RPF security service personnel in the the RPF. hospital at night for this kind of activities, and the disappearance of at least two patients. He also knows that a local nurse that worked with us from the beginning disappeared at the end of May. We had female escorts. They put their bags between the driver and themselves. When we arrived in Kigali, they jumped out to greet somebody and we touched the bag: hand grenades. They all had hand grenades. Once In Nyanza hospital, security problems were key. They they realised that a gun was not acceptable in our car they were stealing patients from the postoperative ward. would have hand grenades on their body and in their poc- They would bring people to this hospital whose kets. Claude Briade and Roger Job had an escort in the car throat they had just slit and say that it was suicide that I refused. It was the special escort I spoke about in my attempt… A nurse told me that soldiers would enter the report that was intimidating the staff and beating them. He hospital as soon as MSF staff had left. They would go to the had brought a hand grenade since he wanted to be ready for beds of people that they didn’t trust and would say: “as the dangerous part of the road. Claude made him throw it soon as you are away from this hospital and under the pro- out of the window. Otherwise he would have thrown the guy tection of this flag, we will take care of you.” A number of of the window with it… which is in the end what Claude them were killed and a nurse was killed, disappeared, never did. He took the hand grenade and threw it out of the win- seen again. We witnessed the same thing in Nyamata in dow. Bugesera. By coincidence, a doctor returned to the hospital to see a woman in labour and saw four soldiers intimidating […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera patients, beating them up. (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English).

[…], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English).

MSF volunteers were also subject to insidious and on- going personal intimidation.

The team questioned the reliability of the communication system with headquarters, as it broke down regularly. They said I was the number one on their hit list. I was supposedly mis-communicating the Rwandan truth to the rest of the world. So there was a lot of pressure, personalised intimidation, very subtle things and I sent Brussels satellite telexes by standard C, which lots of little clues to make you know you are very vulne- strangely broke down. Then my standard M broke rable… They knew that they only needed to give me a hint down also. The next standard A arrived, worked for that they were aware of what I was stressing and then I one day and broke down and then they sent me another would know that I was in danger. So they would say: “You 16 standard M and I think it worked for six weeks. It was very should realise, Mister, that Byumba is one hundred thou- should have free access to camp,patients, etc. that medicalethics arethesameworldwide andthatshe of theincidentandwouldissue strictorders.Heagreed had nothingtolookforin that camp…[E]tooknotes for themtoexamineapatient. Theyweretoldthatthey escort insulted Albert and Vanna and made it impossible I complainedabouttheincident inKisarocampwherean for morethan2hourswhichwasconstructiveandopen… finally had thechanceto meet Dr [E]. Wehadadiscussion Four daysafterreturningfrommyexploratorymission I Extract: regional director for humanitarian issues. blems toDr.EmileRwamasirabo,thenewregime’s Byumba andBugeseraregionspresentedthesepro- On 17June,theMSFBelgiumcoordinatorfor their legs sticking out tothestreet. the nightbeforewerefoundlyingdeadintheirhousewith corpses leftandright.Peoplethathadbeenjustexecuted aware thatIhadtobecarefulbecausewewerefinding executed thathadnothingtodowithit.”Iwasverymuch the guywasanInterahamwe,whywerethreesmallchildren “He wasanInterahamwe.”Isaid:“heawhat?Evenif shots. Andintheend we pressured the staffandtheysaid, somebody toldmehewokeupinthemorningandheardfive and say the things you are saying. Be careful.” And then should becareful!”.YoucannotjustsitherebeingaHutu gram. Buthewastoocriticalandwesaid:“Canissius,you liberty tohelporganisationssetupmedicalaidreliefpro- way the RPFwas treating relief. He wanted to have more Canissius hadbeenexecuted-hecriticalofthe he hassomethingtohide.”SothenIwasaskedquestions. teen people gathered around: “oh he is burning something, in thegardenandmadeapileofpaper.Andfourteen,fif- decided toburnthereports.ThenextmorningIwalkedout English, sotheyknewwhatIwasthinkingoftheRPF.So was thatmyfileswiththiskindofreportwerebeingreadin the administratorinofficeandnextthingIfound with thecarandnobodywouldfindout.Thentheyreplaced dent.” Mycarwasparkedoutside-anybodycouldtamper ving downtheroad,thenyoucouldhaveaterribleacci- sand metres above sea level and if your breaks failing dri- […], MSFBelgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). and Luxembourg (in English). and Luxembourg(inEnglish). and toMSFFrance,Holland,Spain,Switzerland, missions inRwanda,Uganda,BurundiandKenya, 17 June1994.ThesitrepwastransmittedtoMSF 2 MSF BelgiumCoordinatorinRwanda,Sitrepno. (marked ‘confidential’) to MSF Belgium desk, (marked‘confidential’)toMSFBelgiumdesk, meetings in the Mulindi barracks. ritarian attitudetowardtheNGOsduringcoordination The coordinatoralsocomplainedabouttheRPF’sautho- of incidents in ahospitalwhere we areresponsible. with mypointofviewthatIcouldnottoleratethiskind of thedisciplinarycorrectionlieutenant.Heagreed hospital. [E]tooknotesagainandsaidhewouldtakecare arrest her.Afterarguingforawhilethegirlstayedin under 24-hourobservation,butthelieutenantwantedto the incidentandtreatedgirl.Hewantedtokeepher causing severebleedingonherhead.Albertwitnessed 16-year-old girl with a steel pipe inside the hospital, I alsocomplainedaboutalieutenantbeatingup will talk to Ericabout her feelings. even inTibetwiththeChinese. Miekeagreeswithmeand motivation problems.Shehad neverexperiencedthis,not said thatifthesituationcontinueslikethis,shewillface of ourgeneraldirector.Let’ssee.Miekewasshockedand Take itorleaveit.InthisletterIannouncedthearrival don’t wanttotalk,wewillconcludethingsforourselves. on Wednesday,butthat18.00hrsisthedeadline.Ifthey letter toRPFinwhichweaskthemmeetusRilima opened nowandheanswered: yes. We agreedtoissuea closed inturmoil.IaskedICRC’sFerryifhiseyeswere same reasons.AllNGOswhereshockedandthemeeting group ofstarving persons. No appointment either for the minutes togetpermissionforafood-distribution be in danger. No reply from Christine. MDM asked for 5 solved orthecontinuationofICRC/MSFBactivitieswould said thatitwasurgentandthemattershouldbe the Bugesera(likelastweekandshedidn’tcome).ICRC he didnot announce itin time, butshe would come to no time; that he had to wait 5 days to see her, because of theministerRehabilitation]toldhimthatshehad tions aboutRilimaproblems.Christine[Umutoni],deputy ICRC askedforanappointmenttogetanswerstheques- were waitingformetoshowmyopinion(tofreakout)… done… Wedidnotspeakinthismeeting,becausethey humiliating and without the slightest thanks for all we’ve RPF propaganda,whichisfulloflies.Thetonedictating, tions, letaloneanswers.Allthetimewehavetolisten meeting’ isusuallyalecture.Therenotimeforques- The meetinginMulindi,whichiscalledthe‘coordination Extract: July 1994 (inEnglish). of incidentswithRPF,’MSFinternalreport,9 MSF BelgiumCoordinatorinRwanda,‘Summary

17 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On several occasions, Dr. Emile implicitly suggested to During a 17 June press conference, MSF France called the MSF team coordinator that it could be dangerous to for an international armed intervention to halt the be too critical of the RPF. genocide in Rwanda. Materials distributed at the press conference included statements from Burundian refugees in Rwandan camps about abuses committed by RPF soldiers.

The repression was getting worse. But still there were people who understood the humanitarian cause and [E] was one of them… He was the guy with whom I negotiated in the difficult times about giving up Press kit distributed at the MSF France press camps, and the killing of Dr Canissius, executed with his conference, 17 June 1994 (in French). wife and children. The guy had a certain understanding with me. With a blink of his eyes he could tell me things that I Extract: understood. I didn’t have to ask any more questions because Chronology of a Genocide: also he gave me warnings about where to set the limits, - May 11: RPF attack on the Gako military camp where to stop because it was getting dangerous… He stayed - May 12-15: RPF arrives in Maza and Nzangwa in the limits of what was acceptable for the RPF. And of - May 15: RPF massacre in Maza and Nzangwa course he knew things that he didn’t share with me…When - May 15: RPF arrives in the Burenge camp I asked him about Dr Canissius, he said “you should be …RFP abuses: a Burundi refugee in the Maza camps stated careful because you are not a human rights organisation. that around 15 May, RPF soldiers entered the camp. They You did not come here for human rights.” I said “no but it’s gathered the refugees and took them to the Nzangwa stupid to treat people and not to take care of the fact that camp, where they were imprisoned in the mosque and the they are going to be executed after the treatment, if you feeding centre. Soldiers then shot into the crowd and beat don’t mind dear doctor”. survivors with clubs. She lost three of her children and her husband but was able to flee with her son, 9. She had a […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera wound on the back of her head. (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English).

On 22 June, UN Security Council Resolution 929 The field team had problems convincing the headquar- authorised the French army to intervene in Rwanda ters in Brussels of the seriousness of the situation. for a two-month period (to be relieved by UNAMIR), to protect civilian populations and humanitarian aid in ‘an operation that shall be led in an impartial and neutral fashion.’ French troops were deployed in the ‘safe humanitarian zone’ that covered 20 percent of When I reported the incident about Dr Canissius to Rwandan territory in the western part of the country1. the desk, the answer was that I had to go back to V1 the RPF senior commandant and tell them that I knew that they had murdered Doctor Canissius and that MSF was protesting against it. I replied to the desk: would you then please send in the next plane my coffin? They are going to kill me, you know ! … The desk had not the United Nations Security Council Resolution slightest idea of the circumstances under which we were 929 of 22 June 1994 (in English). working… Then the next move was that Dominique [Boutriau - Desk officer] arrived in the field and it was a Extract: very positive thing. She saw the organised logistic lines that The Security Council… taking into account the time needed we had set up and the problems we encountered and when to gather the necessary resources for the effective deploy- she left she was a lot more aware. That was already five or ment of UNAMIR …Noting the offer by Member States to six weeks into the mission. She came to Uganda only. cooperate with the Secretary-General towards the fulfilment of the objectives of the United Nations in Rwanda and […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera stressing the strictly humanitarian character of this opera- (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English). tion which shall be conducted in an impartial and neutral fashion, and shall not constitute an interposition force

1. The SHZ covered the Cyangugu and Gikongoro prefectures and part of Kibuye 18 prefecture. zone to the Bugeseraregion. evacuated 35,000civiliansfromtheGitarama-Butare Belgium informedthepressthatRPFhadforcibly Bugesera, some 150 kilometres away. On 24 June, MSF on foot in difficult conditions to the swampy area of Nyanza andRuhango.Thedisplacedpersonsweresent of the quadrangle bounded by Kabgayi, Gitarama, the RPFforciblydisplaced50,000-100,000inhabitants zone inresponsetotheFrench‘OperationTurquoise,’ On 23June,undertheguiseofsettingupadefence necessary meanstoachievethehumanitarianobjectives… the Secretary-Generaltoconductoperation…usingall Nations, authorisestheMemberStatescooperatingwith …3. ActingunderChapterVIIoftheCharterUnited until UNAMIRisbroughtuptothenecessarystrength ration maybesetupforhumanitarianpurposesinRwanda 1994 –S/1994/728–andagreesthatamultinationalope Welcomes theSecretary-General’sletterdated19June an urgentresponsebytheinternationalcommunity…1. tion in Rwanda constitutes a unique case which demands population inRwanda.Recognizingthatthecurrentsitua tion ofsystematicadwidespreadkillingsthecivilian between theparties…deeplyconcernedbycontinua people stretched forabout25km.TheNyanza hospitalwas gage, wereobserved ontheroadtobridge. Thelineof Some 100,000people,along with theirlivestockandbag- the healthcentrehousing250 patientswereevacuated. Tuesday 29June,theKinavi camp --20,000peopleand On 28 June, 60,000-80,000people crossed the bridge. On was evacuatedbyRPFtrucks and severalbelongingtoMSF. 800 hospitalisedpatients,havebeenempty.Thehospital Since 28June,thecityofRuhangoandhospital,with Extract: and will continue inthedays and hoursahead. Bugesera region.Thisevacuationiscurrentlyunderway to evacuatethedisplacedpopulationNyamatain Following theseattacks,theRPFimmediatelydecided the RuhangoregionandonNyanza,southofGitarama. Yesterday morning,mortarattackswerelaunchedon Extract: in Rwanda(in French). Sitrep: June28-July31994,MSFBelgiumteam French). Press Release,Brussels,24June1994(in Increases SouthofGitarama,’MSFBelgium ‘35,000 CiviliansEvacuatedafterTension - - - Conventions, butalsoany neutral medical personnel. 2. Infact itisnot onlyICRC personnel who are protected bythe Geneva information channelsevenwithin differentRPFbasesare and Rilima.Relations with theRPFarenoteasybecause the truckconvoystransporting patientsbetweenRuhango in Rilima.TherestoftheMSFteamsareaccompanying A total of 1,400 wounded and ill people were hospitalised sence onlyasahumanitariancoverfortheiroperation. impede their work. The RPF seemed to accept their pre- teams, theMSFteamswatchedthesesameauthorities accompany theevacuated.WorkingcloselywithICRC At thelastminute,RPFrequestedthatMSFteams the humanitarian situation. They aredoingsototheirdetrimentaswellthatof is obviousthatthepopulationsaremovingunwillingly. want toincreasetheircontroloverthesepopulations),it for provoking these populationmovements(they clearly north, wererelativelycalm.WhatevertheRPF’sreasons Ruhango, Nyanza,Gitarama,KinaviandBuyoga,inthe the evacuation yet when the RPF ordered people to move, evacuation wasjustified:securityreasonsweregivenfor left manyvictims.Onewonderswhethertheiremergency placement, which occurred in record-breaking time, has them to theRilima hospital. This massive population dis- up thosewhoaretooworn-outtowalkandtransporting back andforth)biscuitsalongtheroadispicking tanks arefilledbya25,000-litrecisterntruckwhichgoes in Ruhuha.Inaddition,MSFisdistributingwater(water dispensary withlocalstaffisfunctioning,moreorless, hopeless (sufferingfromdehydrationandexhaustion).A Their healthstatuswassometimesquiteworrying,even off thereenmassebythetrucksevacuatinghospital. set up at the bridgeto receive and treat patients dropped the nexttobeevacuated. Six MSFdispensarytentswere so that the staffcancontinue to holdthe same status will trytousetheopportunityrenegotiatewithRPF Geneva ConventionsandthusunderICRCprotection).MSF ICRC willprovideuswiththeirlocalstaff(protectedbythe tion). Regardinglocalstafftoworkatthehospitallevel, be responsible for follow-up food aid (general distribu- teams --twonursesduringtheset-upphase.ICRCwill hospital andICRCwillprovidesupportwithitsmedical which MSFwillhavefinalresponsibilityfortheRilima ving patients.An agreement was made with ICRC under MSF doctorfromNyamataandtwonursesbeganrecei- MSF wasabletobeginitsRilimaactivitieson28June.The Extract: team in Rwanda (inFrench). Sitrep June 28 - July 3 1994, MSF Belgium 2 .

19 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

not always efficient. This has created problems in the care to a small place in the Bugesera. After this, the stream field (escorts unavailable, delay in the Rilima installation of people towards Rilima was stopped so that the majority mission, disorganised transport of the wounded from of the population was staged 65 km away from the main Ruhango). These issues were discussed in Byumba with concentration of relief. I asked to increase the number of Captain Denys and Dr. Emile. To improve communication, displaced in the area, so that Rilima could be the provin- a liaison officer will be detached from Byumba for MSF in cial health centre. At the moment they only moved 5,000 the Bugesera region in the coming days. Furthermore, our persons, out of 70,000 persons to Rilima. Planned? By the head of mission has established a direct link with the RPF way, they say they only know of 30,000 persons, 5,000 in in Brussels. Rilima and 25,000 in Ruhuha. Where are the rest? - Access to Rilima has been denied for 3 days without any reason why. It looks like they did not want us to be ready to receive ‘worthless’ people. In the meantime people were forced to stay at the bridge, while everybody knows that MSF Belgium Coordinator in Rwanda, ‘Summary this place is an excellent spot to spread disease, epide- of incidents with RPF,’ MSF internal report, 9 mics and suffering. July 1994 (in English). - The shortcut from Ruhuha to Nyamata/ Rilima has been closed by the RPF due to ‘security reasons’. It forced the Extract: population to walk another 60 kilometres. Instead of faci- Evacuation of Ruhango, Nyanza and Kinazi litating the quick evacuation to the assigned area, people Having been asked by RPF Dr [E] to provide medical and were ordered to stop, to walk again, to turn around again, logistical assistance with the evacuation of patients, making them run around in circles, with what cause in orphans and the population of the defence area of Ruhango mind …? We saw big groups being turned back towards and Nyanza, MSFB moved all resources and personnel. We the bridge, and nobody wanted to answer the question found the population being forced to move without any why. My escort: “they are coming back from the fields, assistance. The emergency situation was growing by the they live at the bridge”. They came from the field with hour. Evaluating the happenings after the operation was mattresses on their heads?? ‘completed’ I came to following conclusions. - Trucks of MSF have been rerouted, delayed, arrested etc. - The population had been moved into screening camps Patients that were loaded in Ruhango/ Kinazi have not all before. reached the hospital in Rilima. One truck was ordered to - They originated from Kigali, Gitarama and Kabgayi and park at gunpoint. It arrived the next day with a load of have been displaced several times. dead or half dead patients. The driver (ATLAS) was shoc- - MSFB in Ruhango has been misinformed about the loca- ked. tion of camps. Local staff informed us of major clusters - Orphans that we were supposed to move were dumped which were not shown to us by RPF. at the bridge by RPF and kept there for three days on - The evacuation has been ordered due to reasons dif- purpose. Nobody was allowed to touch them (‘these are ferent from security. First it was dangerous for ICRC to our children, don’t touch them !’) The access to Zaza was stay, because the French were going to bomb them accor- granted to the ICRC. When the trucks with 180 dead sick, ding to RPF, later they said that there was in fact no direct dehydrated and malnourished children arrived in Rilima, security problem to be expected, but they had to be ready. access to Zaza was denied again, leaving a medical team At what price! waiting for the children in Zaza. Later they accused ICRC - By ordering the people to start moving instantly, RPF of trying to play authority by arranging themselves what knew that the death toll would be enormous. Trying to get should happen to the children of the RPF state. They had international attention and a good name in the western unfortunately spoken to the wrong prefect, RPF military world was probably one of the reasons they asked us to explained. These children were absolutely healthy when show up for assistance. they were pictured by Roger Job in Ruhango. We sheltered - General attitude of RPF was blunt and insensitive to the them temporarily, fed them and hospitalised the sick ones. huge suffering of the people. They said things like: “we - As we had no water, we could not do our medical job will make them suffer, because we suffered for their libe- properly. They delayed our water search operation for two ration” and “oh, you say this is a human catastrophe, we days. As last resort, we went for lake water (to be heavily call this natural selection.” Another interesting statement chlorinated) in order to save the lives of the 180 children. was made when we wanted to give soap to workers: “you The day after a certain Mister Henri arrived at the Rilima should not pay the people. We are creating a society in hospital and accused MSF of the following: which people will work without pay. If they don’t work, 1. We were responsible for the bad nutritional status of we’ll punish them”. the orphans. Why didn’t MSF feed them? - The arrest of our trucks at the border with Burundi was 2. The housing was below standard. Why did MSF not look probably a planned action. By slowing us down, they could for a better place? continue the dumping of patients, orphans and civilians at 3. We had not treated the children according to medical their own speed and without conscious white men around. standards. - By getting MSF to Rilima and forcing ICRC to move for the 20 time being to the same place, they evacuated all health He said that I was personally responsible for the mistreat- how, etc.But it wasplaintoseethatthose peoplewere knew whatitwas about,whattherationale was,why,or what isgoing on, butitisawful.” Besides, I never really “What isgoingonhere?”Itold him,“Wedon’treallyknow Cardinal Etchegarray;hetook measideandaskedme, this guytappedmeontheshoulder. Itwasthepapalenvoy, first open,levelareawefound ontheway.Atsomepoint and itwasvirtuallyimpossibletogetsupplies.Itthe from ideal. It was way too hot, there was very little water, because theplacewehadbeenmoreorlessallottedwasfar re- hydratepeople,whichmightnothavebeenagoodidea three dispensarytentsalongtheway.Wetriedatleastto of itandcompletelyoverwhelmed.Wehadsetuptwoor forced march.Itwastotalchaos.Andwewereinthemiddle dead at the side of the road. They were exhausted from their absolutely noassistance.Peoplewereliterallydropping out. Inappallingconditions.Withnoorganizationatalland lized thattheyaswonareas,sweptthepeople that itwerejustpeoplefleeing.Butlittlebywerea- of life, he was witnessing. He stayed around two weeks. was onthetruckthatpeoplediedon.Thedeliberatewaste happening. Hewasinthemiddleofit.hasseen we had very good cooperation. He was aware of what was bridge. Ithinkhewasveryimpressedbywhathappenedand the orphans and the operation to bring them over the I toldhimneededandhecameintheevacuationof for the lives ofinnocent children. Hegave no comments. with rejectinghisinsultingattemptofmakingusguilty like to visit theother ones? Henrisaidno.So I concluded ward andthehealthyonesareinfrontofyou.Wouldyou feeding centre,thediarrhoeacasesinre-hydration 3. Allsickareinthehospital,malnourished them. this cinema and I gave enough plastic sheeting to resettle but thatwasnotpossible.Therewereonly50displacedin 2. Theauthoritieshavebeenaskedtoemptythecinema, them in this state. ren ingoodconditionbeforeRuhango.YOUbrought there for three days without anything. We saw the child- could doit.RPFdumpedthematthebridgeandkept 1. RPF was ripping them out of their orphanage before we nator) the answers to the questions: ment. IgaveMisterHenri(RPFnon-medicalreliefcoordi- […], MSFBelgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). of peoplecomingtowardsus.Firstwetoldourselves began toseedozens,hundreds,andthenthousands We decidedtoheadforButare,andthat’swherewe him whetherhewasstilladoctor.Hesaid“yes”so tion camefromBurunditovisitthemission.Iasked Pierre Harzé,MSFBelgiumdirectorofcommunica- the RPF. sands ofpeoplewhowerebeingforciblydisplacedby lack ofpreparationandpoorconditionsfacingthou- On 1July,MSFBelgiuminformedthepressabout no means of subsistence. being chased from their villagesand sent to the rear with tion. Idon’tremember.Maybe hestayedlongerthanIdid. systematic policy.Maybethecoordinator hadotherinforma- can senseacertainapprehension. Itdoesn’tsaythatitisa in thepress.Inthiscommuniqué [datedJuly1,1994]you it withseveralBelgianjournalists.Therewereafewarticles much difficulty. When Igotbackremember talking about people. Weevenmanagedtohalttheirmovementswithout papal envoy,whichwasgoodbecausetheyareinfluential had abitofinfluence.Noonewaseverinformedbesidesthe a realimpact.ButIdothinkthatinthiscasewemighthave witnesses. I am not all that sure about MSF’s ability to have settle alongtheroad.1,400patientsfromdifferenthospi number of victims, the displaced have been authorised to been ravagedby dehydration anddysentery.Giventhehigh never reach their destination: the displaced population has It isimpossibletoestimatethenumberofpersonswhowill 100,000 peoplehavebeenaffectedbythisdisplacement. km beforereachingtheirdestination.Currently,50,000- and withoutrealpreparation.Somepeoplehadtowalk150 This displacementistakingplaceunderpoorconditions region, onordersfromtheRwandanPatrioticFront(RPF). the displacedcampstocityofRilimainBugesera of peoplefromGitarama,Ruhango,Kabgai,Nyanza,and Over thelastfivedays,wehaveobservedamassexodus Rwandans, toreceivedisplacedpersonsas well aspatients. international volunteersareonsite,withsupportfrommany are trying to respondthehumanitarian needs. Twenty tals in the regionwere also evacuatedto Rilima. MSFteams Extract: think itwasoverquickly.Iweweretheonly the authoritiesandsaidthatitmustbestopped.I MSF witnessedthisforceddisplacement.Wealerted 1994 (inFrench). To Bugesera,’MSFBelgiumPressRelease,1July ‘Rwanda: MassiveNumbersofPeopleDisplaced MSF Belgium until November 1994 (inFrench). MSF Belgium until November 1994 (inFrench). Dr. Pierre Harzé, Director of communications, Dr. Pierre Harzé, Director of communications, -

21 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

The MSF team protected and then evacuated one of atmosphere in RPF territory changed dramatically. The its Tutsi secretaries. She was threatened with death RPF prepared their defence lines and moved big numbers because she refused to collaborate with the new autho- of population. The attitude towards NGOs became more rities by spying on her employers. aggressive, suspicious and the cooperation diminished day by day. Passports were checked in the search for French natio- nals, and those present were intimidated. I sent a French logistician back to Bujumbura upon arrival in Ruhango and They were very anxious to keep an eye on every another was sent to Kampala to change with a Belgian white person in town. They wanted our secretary, a national. Tutsi, to report on us. She refused, telling them that Both evacuations were done for security reasons. On 23 they should be a little grateful for what the people were June, the RPF ordered the evacuation of the population doing for them. They had a security file in Byumba against in the zone between Gitarama and Butare, meaning all her. We had to protect her from being kidnapped. She displaced, residents and relief workers. Everybody would should not leave the hospital. She could not leave the com- be directed to Nyamata and surroundings. We were asked pany of any one of us because otherwise they would ambush to assist with the evacuation of hospital patients and her and kill her. She was in the day working in our office orphans, medical and logistical. I agreed to assist and and as soon as the night fell I walked her down together arranged a team of 7 persons with 3 vehicles to go to with somebody else, with a blanket wrapped around her Ruhango in the early hours of the 24 th. MSF Bujumbura head. We walked up to the operating block. There we had and Nyamata were asked to join with human resources, an intravenous fluid room with no windows. There were vehicles and supplies. An incredible task was waiting for mattress, a radio and a key, so she would go inside to sleep us, taking the maximum input of the personnel involved. there. I would say: “you don’t open the door for anybody - in case there is a problem you call me by radio.” So we checked the radio. She stayed inside. The surgeon’s room was next to hers with a huge big, surgeon who would keep an eye out and move his mattress in front of the door. And MSF Belgium did not have a symbiotic relationship I would sleep a hundred metres from the barracks with the with the RPF. Anyway, that was impossible. They radio next to my ear and the other key. And this was the weren’t nice people...From the outset I, personally, only way to protect her from being attacked. It lasted two associated them with the guerrillas I had met in the past. I or three weeks. And then we found a possibility to bring her might love them when they are in the guerrilla, but I hate to Nyamata. In Nyamata there was confusion because the them when they are in power. In the guerrilla, they are RPF were taking Kigali. At the moment they were taking romantic and likable, but after that they are murderers. They Kigali, somebody wrote a note and said, “We have to go to reminded me of the Eritrean. They had the same hardened Bujumbura and get supplies. Can you please sign that we attitude, self-assured, arrogant. They gave me the willies. pass the border with this, this, this and this.” We put The They were hard people to whom human life didn’t mean secretary name on the paper. They signed. And when the much. You could just tell. Besides, they were Tutsi and the prefect had signed we could pass the border. We got her to people on the roads were Hutu. In that setting they didn’t Burundi. And the next stage was to move her outside of the feel like doing them any favors. Anyhow, they let us travel country. around the region. It is true that we didn’t have the means to respond to the emergency and that our presence might […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera have been used as an alibi... But at the time there was no (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English). one there and we had to intervene...I am still sure that the displacement was not organized by either side. It was the kind of localized upheaval that happens in a conflict, with bad decisions based on strategy that lead to the death of thousands and maybe tens of thousands of people. In his 7 July sitrep, the MSF Belgium coordinator reported on the RPF’s negligent treatment of the population Dr. Pierre Harzé, Director of communications, and its efforts to manipulate humanitarian organisa- MSF Belgium until November 1994 (in French). tions.

MSF Belgium coordinator Rwanda Sitrep n° 4 On 9 July, the MSF Belgium coordinator in Rwanda to Programme manager, 7 July 1994 (in provided MSF Belgium headquarters desk with a report English). summarising RPF incidents in which he described the new regime’s members as ‘Khmer Rouge.’ In conclu- Extract: sion, he encouraged MSF to consider a public denuncia- 22 After the deployment of French troops in Rwanda, the tion of RPF abuses. Unfortunately we (thereliefworkers)arethe onlyonesto future with a humanface for Rwanda. the NGOsandtheytrytoshow tousthattheyareagood play themediagamesplendidly. Theycontrolandabuse delines foreverything.They are readyforthepress.They all theinsandoutsplanned. Theyhavedoctrinesandgui- population. RPFofficialsare extremelyintelligent,have die; nothingiseasiertocontrolthanaweakandobeying time andtheywilllisten.Letthemsuffer,lettheirfamily ideology oftheKhmer Rouge. Move the peopleall I thinkthatthisisacommunistsystembasedonthe they aresotiredandsickthatfalldeadintheditch? in amassacrefield?Whymovethepeoplealltime,till year. Whydon’ttheyletusdoourjob?childrendie around thecorner.Noharvestingmeansstarvationnext a dogma.InSeptembertherainwillbehere.Cholerais the civilianstheyrule…italllookslikeanofficialline, the fieldlackofcooperation,plannedmovements doesn’t interestthem.Allsayings,theofficialattitude, for your15minutesmeetingwithme…”Thatpeoplestarve for helpingustohelpthemisnotexisting.“Wait5days they trytoblockusfromseeingsomething.Realinterest control us,collectfromus(more,more),spyonand that askstupidquestionareonlyaburden.Theytryto • NGOpresenceisseenasdifficult.Allthosewhitepeople longer. Why are they not interestedin popular support? port, they wouldhave more power and chance to rule for nothing goodinmind.Iftheytriedtogainpopularsup- rights, executionsandintimidation.Thisregimehas • Thereisenoughproofofmassviolationshuman splendid condition, and therest can die. Soldiers arewellfed,thepoliticaluppertenpercentisin RPF, intelligent,andneededforthefutureorwar. world. Infacttheyonlycareforthosewhoaresuperpro fect smokescreenforgainingsupportfromtheWestern • Thecover,thattheycarefortheirpopulation,isaper- suppression. ThenewruleisthatHutu should notwork… and keeppower.Buttheycanonlydobydictatorship Those whotriedaredeadnow.Theyplanningtohave in ordernottogetshot.Nobodydaresopenhismouth. and intimidation.Iseeaterrifiedpopulationthatobeys • TheRPFhas no majority support. They rule by gunpoint tion of certain partsof the population. the system,harassment,andplannedextermina- tate and fills in the forms the RPF presents them, accepts let usbeonyourside.”Almosteverybodyacceptsthedic- are blind to the ‘saviours’. “Please, give me a camp, please have allthesympathytheywant.NGOsandgovernments Compared totheotherside,whichisevenworse,they They arenotliberatingthecountry,butoccupyingit. – andisnotrepresentingthemajorityofRwandan Tutsi. • TheRPFcomesfromUganda,BurundiandZaire–Tutsi My personal conclusions Extract: July 1994 (inEnglish). of incidentswithRPF,’MSFinternalreport,9 MSF BelgiumCoordinatorinRwanda,‘Summary to continue the program. ted it,thedeskwassaying:The onlythingthatmattersis were deportedandIwasseeingthembutwhenrepor - talking about?”Humanrightswereviolated,thesepeople RPF wassayinginBrussels:“MSFisthere,sowhatareyou which werehappeningunderourflagandcoverbecause could notbaretheresponsibilityforhumanrightsviolations atmosphere withinMSFthatI,asageneralcoordinator, were inthere.That’swhyIwrotethatthing,tocreatean against certainorganisations,andthefalsefiguresthat things orthemistakes,deliberatehatecampaign making referencetothecriticisminreportofMulindi me. That’showIexplainedthatthingswerenotallright, 8. Habenwir es nichtgewusst ??? [Didwenot know it?] king conditions is reached? 7. Dowecontinuethisway,nowthatnotoneofthewor- taining our own existence? implementation orbyprojectending,arewebusysus- 6. Dowestandupfortherightsofmasses,byproject the dictator wants togain? ted bydictatorshipandcontributetothemediarolethat 5. Arewegoingtorespondemergenciesthatarecrea- really is happening? use theMSFflagforcoverandasasmokescreenwhat violates human rights systematically? Do weallow them to 4. Are we doing good to continue to support a regime that achievable? That wehave no controlover our projects? 3. Doweacceptthatourrulesofimplementationarenon plier? 2. Doweaccepttheroleoffreechargemedicinesup- 1. What do wewanttoachieve in Rwanda? Questions that MSF will have toaskitself: is making us accomplicesof the crime. regardless ofpresentandfutureforthosepeoplewecure, up inmassmediacoverage.Curingcreateddisease, According tome,MSFshouldenditsactivitiesandopen controlled zones hasbeencreated by RPFthemselves. because we see the truth. Most of the suffering in the RPF tal’? Theliestheythrowoverusareclearlyrecognisable What conventionsofGeneva?‘nogunsinthehospi- human rights,norespectforNGOrulesorideologies. Executions. Compilationsofsecurityfiles.Norespectfor like theKGB.Spiesaroundyou24hours.Disappearances. the victims,martyrs.Iseeasystemthatfunctions by disease,niceandcleanbecausetheywilllooklike in frontofmyveryeyes.Murderbyplannedstarvation, the NGOs) in Rwanda. I see planned genocide appearing evaluate thesituationbecauseweworkandlive(someof […], MSF Belgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). motivations forEricGoemaeretocomeandsupport on theMulindimeeting,preparingforBrussels What motivatedmetodraftthisreport,waswriting

23 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

The MSF Belgium coordinator’s report was discussed good many of them had a lot of blood on their hands... And in Brussels and transmitted to the other MSF sections. yet, the way the RPF was acting put me on my guard right Opinions were divided. away. And I sure wasn’t inclined to let them get away with anything. But when you are in a hospital, surrounded by dying people, and someone shows up with a toothache, you send them packing. You automatically stand back, and that can be very dangerous. But it is also a way to protect you. For me it is totally unclear. I understood that it was It was just so incredible. There were piles of bodies! We broadly discussed in Brussels, that there was a big didn’t even stop if there was a body by the roadside. The polemic around the text I wrote which, of course, I RPF discovered the bodies when we did. The difference is didn’t know at the time. Some of the things were facts like that it was their families, and they were armed. If I were to Dr Canissius being killed. But one of the general sentiments exaggerate, I would say that they even showed some res- about this document was that ‘ the guy is overworked, he is traint! However, they did commit some atrocities. During not seeing things clearly and he has to be replaced as soon the genocide, the Butare hospital was emptied of its as possible, then we will have a good mission.’ So when Eric patients, who were all killed. Then the RPF came and put Goemaere came he said: “that’s the impression Brussels two supposed culprits up against the wall. Executing them gave me. Yet I am seeing you and I am checking what you was an atrocity, too. Obviously, that’s unforgivable, intole- have written, I am checking what you have said and it’s my rable, but it was a particular situation. opinion you are right.” And after that nothing happened. I closed my mission and I went back home. Dr. Pierre Harzé, Director of communications, MSF Belgium until November 1994 (in French). […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English).

That suddenly strengthened the notion that perhaps the RPF’ s image wasn’t so pure and that some of I never saw that report… I had fallen out with MSF their methods could at least be described as strong- at the time [Pierre left MSF a few months later] [...] arm. But the war was still going on. This could have been I just read a few paragraphs and not one jogs my part of their strategy to control territory. These were the memory. I have seen scores of reports. But I would remem- very first statements against the RPF and we were afraid ber that one if I had seen it… It’s too bad that I never saw because, in fact, they were not very pleasant people. it, and it is strange that [the coordinator] never told me about it. There probably aren’t too many people who have Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director seen it… I do remember that [The coordinator] was a great (in French). guy, but he had some credibility problems… I can picture the scene: [the coordinator] arriving with the report and six other guys from headquarters saying, “he’s nice but he gets on our nerves, he needs a rest.” At MSF back then that’s the end of the report. That’s how things were. It might have In 1994, after evacuating Kigali and Butare, MSF happened like that... I really can’t express an opinion on the Belgium reintroduced an initial team into northern context of the report because, out of context, it really Rwanda via Uganda. The first team member’s report doesn’t mean all that much. By the time we got to Nyanza, on the mood described the following: “It’s sheer terror. My I think that I had already seen the bodies of tens of thou- colleagues are disappearing. When I ask for information, I’m sands of genocide victims. We were seeing nothing but told to be quiet. Afterwards, everyone says they were mur- bodies. We were overwhelmed and felt powerless. We were dered.” He described an atmosphere marked by arbitrary walking a tightrope. When you land in a country, without arrests and summary executions. He was very shocked by the support, and the two-bit lieutenant there, who isn’t even a repression underway within the society. He sent a report to lieutenant but who is armed says, “That’s it,” well, that’s Brussels. There was no public position on this. But in any it… I see here [reading from the report] that [The coordi- event, the Gersony Report came out in September. UNHCR nator] is outraged because people went to the hospital with said that the RPF was conducting massacres. So it’s not as weapons. If I look back at the situation, even today, I say though this information was a secret anymore. that’s ridiculous. What’s the problem? A hospital is no place for weapons, we all agree on that. But that’s a rule you Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme make when you can. It takes time... He uses the term manager (in French) “Khmer Rouge.” That is a fear I shared, I already told you. But it was never confirmed, because I don’t know of any other mass displacement inside a country after that. It wasn’t institutionalized. There were camps, but the men in 24 the camps had a lot to be nervous about. In particular, a humanitarian organisations. the regionreportedFrenchmilitary’sappealsto zone aroundGikongoro.Internationaljournalistsin of Rwandans took refuge in the safe humanitarian Fleeing advancingRPFforces,hundredsofthousands independent of theFrench army. possible to provide them with aid while remaining insecurity andnotedthatitwasbothnecessary thousands ofdisplacedpersonswerelivinginextreme region’s ‘ZoneTurquoise.’Themissionrevealedthat tions conductedanevaluationmissionintheGikongoro From 4-10July,MSF’sBelgian,FrenchandDutchsec- supposed todo the workof NGOs. hardest tohelppeoplebutthattheyarenotequippednor anti-French military are saying that the military try their was MSF waiting for? Even those who were previously NGOs? Wherearethemedicalorganisations?Andwhat had thesamecommentsandquestions.Whyarethereno The firstbatchgotbacktoGomalastnight,andtheyall TV feed point inGikongoro). open withlittlefoodandnomedicine.(ThereisanEBU area, and after seeing all the displaced sleeping in the people fleeingthefrontline,amassedaroundGikongoro the journoaresayingabouthundredsofthousands “Thousands lefttodie-whereareNGOs?”–Thisiswhat Extract: coordinated by MSFHolland;Holland has suppliesin Conclusions: The mission on the FAR side is international, camps? Oxfam UK, CARE? organisations possible in thefield to manage the new presence intheFARzoneto assertourneutrality.Other participate. MSFBELGIUM:No personnel.Wemusthavea Coordination: MSFHollandand MSFFrancearereadyto begin inBukavuandexpandtoCyanguguGikongoro. the internationalisationofthismission.Themissionmay tion wasknowntobecatastrophic.Scepticismregarding for twomonthstheDutchtoreachfield.Thesitua - levels. Marie-Christinenotesthatwehavebeenwaiting famine anddeathrateshavealreadyreachedalarming A majorcatastropheisbrewingnearGikongoro,where FAR Zone Extract: departments, 7 July 1994 (inEnglish). Samantha Bolton, tee, 8 July 1994 (inFrench). Minutes of theMSFBelgiumprojectcommit- Sitrep toMSFCommunication Paris responsibleforcoordinationandcommunication. communicate onthis once you hear from MSF in Brux/Paris. neutrality (MSFHparticularly insists on this). Pleaseonly start workbutunderconditionofstrictindependenceand Gikongoro area, ended on Sunday.Allsectionsagreeto tory missioninthesouthwestofRwanda,includingfamous MSF missionexplo–Thefour-personinternationalexplora to guarantee our independence inthe areas of: We mustbevery carefulaboutourbehaviour inthefield Intervention necessary: yes, but… why they want NGOs present; particularly MSF backing ‘tobeableclaimthe humanitarianlabel.That’s political andmilitaryoperation needsa‘humanitarian threatening togothepress. It’sclearthattheFrench We are under a lot of pressure to intervene. They’re even Extract: Extract: take a month tofindthe necessary staff. but lacksnecessaryresourcesfornow.MSFBelgiumwill be dividedintomodules. MSF Belgium wants to participate Bujumbura fortheFARzone.Thismission’sactivitieswill to analyse the region’s food pipeline. ration with non-Belgian personnel and sending an expert launch the operation. MSF Belgium is supporting the ope- Supplies pre-positionedbyMSFHollandinBurundiwill be operationalnextweekandcoordinatedbyMSFFrance. ment ofthreecamps…a14-memberteamisplanned,to army)… MSF decided to intervene and assume manage- southern part;populationsaremoving(source:French the prefecture,while1millionwerereportedtobein found 300,000–500,000peopleinthenorthernpartof civilian and military authorities.Apreliminary evaluation problems andwasabletomakeappropriatecontactswith zone. Theevaluationmissiondidnotencountersecurity after aFARhelicopterattackedanMSFvehicleintheRFP escort. Themissionhadbeenputoffforseveraldays via Bukavu,wasconductedindependentlyandwithout An MSFInternationalexploratorymissiontoGikongoro, Extract: Gikongoro, July 13,1994 (in French). departments, 7 July 1994 (inEnglish). Samantha Bolton,SitrepforMSFCommunication 4-10 July 1994 (inFrench). Rwandan crisis-situationreport,MSFFrance Minutes ofevaluationmissiondebriefing, -

25 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

- Finances in an extraordinary act of mythmaking. It has managed - Supplies to disguise what the evidence suggests to be its true - Travel. interests by wrapping its actions in the discreet flag of We cannot accept French government coordination. We humanitarianism. Shamelessly, yesterday’s victims are can agree to UN coordination or ‘joint’s/ICRC action. now publicly demonised and introduced as tomorrow’s Even if we do, in fact, benefit from the passive security of executioners. At the risk of forcing the point, allow me the French army, it is out of the question for us to place to restate several key items that should be kept in mind ourselves under its protection except, of course, in case of if one is to calmly challenge those who might find them- serious problem and, hence, evacuation. To put it plainly, selves tempted by a ‘revisionist’ version of the Rwandan we are on our own. However, we will not refuse contact tragedy… and if there are security problems, we will not hesitate The RPF is innocent--and remains so until proven othe- to call on them. We can explain our position to the UN rwise--of systematic massacres against civilian popula- Department of Humanitarian Affairs or another UN agency. tions under its responsibility. This does not exclude the We must also distinguish ourselves, at all costs, from local possibility that accounts have been settled, nor should authorities, who will try to manipulate us. However, these it dull our vigilance, particularly in the face of recent contacts will be critical for protecting the team’s security. population displacements observed in the areas taken by It will be difficult to find the right balance at this level the RPF. of contacts. We must always keep in mind that we will have to deal with people who organised genocide. To put it plainly, our position will have to be both pragmatic and Pierrot Harzé came back from there, saying, ‘The ethical (a difficult task). supposed liberators are using methods that are hard We must remember that the population could be ready to to endorse.’ He wrote one or two articles in which turn against us. the term ‘Khmer Noir’ was used to refer to the RPF for the We must thus maintain our freedom of speech. Our work first time. It appeared in the major Brussels newspapers, must be limited to meeting the most basic, emergency and including Le Soir. But people don’t pay much attention to short-term needs. accounts that go contrary to their expectations. They’ve got The situation could turn ugly. Our work must focus on to be verified. They didn’t start again and it’s become addressing emergency needs (let’s not forget that not all ancient history. The press didn’t jump on it because the RPF Hutu are ‘génocidaires’ and that many are victims of mani- had a huge reservoir of sympathy. In the end, we let it drop. pulation and a policy of terror and are now very dependent on international aid). But we must find partners, interna- Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director tional or local, who can quickly take over. We must always (in French). look for the balance between need, on the one hand, and compromises and insecurity, on the other. At this point, the balance has shifted toward intervention but could I haven’t heard of any article in Le Soir but I spoke. move in the other direction. I had a very short Verbatim by phone with Colette Braeckman. Don’t forget I am not a French speaker so it’s difficult for me to speak to the French press. I think she had read what I had written. To be frank, everything that happen with this thing since it was sent to Brussels, I On 11 July 1994, after MSF Belgium’s communications don’t know. I am totally blank. director returned from Rwanda, he published an article criticising Operation Turquoise in the Belgian daily, Le […], MSF Belgium coordinator for Byumba and Bugesera Soir. A few quotes illustrate the difficulty of discussing (Rwanda), from May to September 1994 (in English). the new regime’s abuses in the post-genocide context.

By mid-July the Belgian and Dutch sections had finally Pierre Harzé, ‘Take Off the Masks,’ Le Soir withdrawn, leaving the French MSF section as the (Belgium), 11 July 1994 (in French). only one working in the Turquoise Zone. On behalf of its international movement, MSF sent a letter to the Extract: United Nations Security Council asking the interna- Just days after Operation Turquoise was launched, the tional community to encourage the displaced persons’ project has turned out to be just what its sponsors had in return by assuring their safety and increasing aid to mind: a hopeless effort aimed at saving the government Rwanda. (See case study, “Withdrawal from Rwandan - a faltering and bloody one, but friendly to an extremist Refugee Camps in Zaire and Tanzania 1994-1995.”) Hutu faction. Backed by a national media that appears, for now, to have 26 lost its critical edge, the French government is involved cally by mobilisingthe UN’s aidagencies. political andhumanitarianresponsetothecrisis,specifi - the UnitedNationstotakealeadershiproleinboth their homeregions.MédecinsSansFrontièresalsourges lence, therebyencouragingdisplacedpersonstoreturn both humanitarianaidandprotectionfrompoliticalvio- Rwanda andtakemeasurestoassurethepopulationof the internationalcommunitytoincreaseaidthroughout the UNSecurityCouncil,MédecinsSansFrontièrescallson must nowpursuethatgoal.Inalettertodayaddressedto will havetogohome.HumanitarianagenciesandtheUN resolve theproblem.Inend,displacedpersons mistake tothinkthatmassivehumanitarianaidcould either political or humanitarian terms. It would be a This protectionzoneisnotviableinthelong-term tion to alleviate theconsiderable suffering. ‘security zone’canonlybeconsideredashort-termsolu- French government’spolicyinRwanda.Aidthe MSF emphasises that this operationis independent of the of drinking water could lead towidespreadepidemics. quickly becomeinadequateandincomingweeks,thelack They lackprotectionandmedicalcare.Foodsuppliescould tions intemporary,overcrowdedsitesnorthofGikongoro. displaced persons are living in extremely precarious condi- luation missionconfirmedthatsome300,000-400,000 conducted inthedesignated‘securityzone.’MSF’seva- The newprogramfollowsanMSFevaluationmission French government’s military operation. The operationwillbeconductedindependentlyfromthe equipment andsupplieswillbelandinginBujumbura. cargo planecarryingmedicineandhealthmedical 14 internationaldoctors,nursesandwaterengineers. A (Cyanica, RukongoandKaduha).Thestaffwillinclude based atthreedisplacedpersons’sitesnorthofGikongoro teams isalreadyinthefield.)ThenewMSFprogramwillbe displaced personsinsouthwesternRwanda.(Oneofthree new emergency medical program to aid some 200,000 Late nextweek,MédecinssansFrontièreswilllauncha sons canreturn home.’ ‘It’s onlyashort-term measure sothatthedisplacedper- Extract: In aletteraddressed totheUNSecurityCouncil, MSFalso least 200,000 displaced personsinsouthwestern Rwanda. independent ofFrenchmilitary operations,onbehalfofat Late thisweek,MSFwilllaunch amedicalaidproject, Extract: Press Release,12July 1994 (inFrench). south-western Rwanda,’MSFInternational ‘MSF LaunchesIndependentAidProgramin Brussels, 14 July1994(in French). western Rwanda,’MSFBelgiumPressRelease, ‘MSF LaunchesItsOwnAidPrograminsouth- specialised agencies). humanitarian response(bymobilisingtheUnitedNations response (soastoavoidonecountryactingalone)and retains a determining leadership role, both in the political your intervention so that the UnitedNationsasawhole and humanitarianaidcanbeprovided.Wealsorequest origin asquickly as possible so that appropriate protection of allowingthesedisplacedtoreturntheirregion you urgentlytake all possible political initiative in view significantly istoletthemreturnhome.Werequestthat to help these hundreds of thousands of people quickly and From the health perspective, we think that the only way Extract: percent Hutu - inthiszone. there arebetween700,000-800,000 displacedpersons-99 to estimatesfromMSF’sevaluation missionintheregion, ident explained. “It’s a matter of credibility.” According guish itselffromOperation Turquoise,” thegroup’spres- MSF willacceptnogovernment aid.“MSFwantstodistin- organisation’s teamwillinclude12peopleinthefield. the missionisindependentofFrenchauthorities.The located intheheartofFrench-createdsecurityzone, launched anaidmissioninGikongoroprefecture. Although nitarian aidorganisationMédecinsSansFrontières(MSF) Philippe BibersonannouncedthatonMonday,thehuma - Extract: against political violence. tion mustbeassuredofhumanitarianaidandprotection Rwanda andiftheirsafetyisguaranteed.Thepopula- only be possible if aid is increased in other regions of encourage thedisplacedpersons’return.Theirreturnwill Council, MSFcalledontheinternationalcommunityto tely inthisarea…InaletteraddressedtotheSecurity to thinkthatmassiveaidcouldbemaintainedindefini- zone’ isnotviableinthelong-term.Itwouldbeamistake From apoliticalandhumanitarianperspective,the‘safety a short-termsolutiontoalleviatethemosturgentneeds. ded intheFrench‘securityzone’canonlybeconsidered preted assupportforFrenchpolicyinRwanda.Aidprovi- MSF emphasisesthatthisoperationshouldnotbeinter- that areabeabletoreturnhomeassoonpossible… issued anurgentrequestthatthedisplacedpersonsin French). Ghali, UN General Secretary, 12 juillet 1994 (in (International office)toBoutros- Letter fromMédecinsSansFrontières (France), 14 July1994(inFrench). Country BeforetheEndofJuly,’LeMonde ‘Three HundredFrenchSoldierstoLeavethe

27 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Between 13-17 July, some 500,000-800,000 is the military strategy of the RPF and their victory. Rwandans,3 driven by militias and the FAR and fleeing However, there are reports that refugees are incited to the advancing RPF, flooded Goma, Zaire, a few miles leave by the old extremist Hutu regime through their radio from the Rwandan border, north of Lake Kivu. station Mille Collines that continues to spread the message that all Hutu will be killed by the new government. During a 19 July press conference in Brussels, MSF MSF message Belgium officials called for the repatriation of Rwandan There can only be one clear message: the refugees have refugees in Zaire and Tanzania and for the implemen- to return to Rwanda as soon as possible. For humanitarian tation of guarantees required for their return. MSF agencies present in Zaire, it will be virtually impossible to Holland took the same position. achieve an adequate level of protection and assistance for these huge numbers of refugees.

‘MSF Belgium Demands that Refugees Return Home Quickly,’ MSF Belgium Press Release, 19 On 29 and 30 July, after several weeks of harassing July 1994 (in French). and threatening MSF and ICRC staff, RPA [RPA army] soldiers attacked the Rilima (Rwanda) hospital and Extract: demanded that the ICRC turn over its Hutu employees. “Political and humanitarian conditions demand that Rwandan refugees be allowed to return home as quickly as possible. This is of vital importance.” That, in short, is MSF’s message on the Rwandan refugee crisis… Secure living conditions must be provided within Rwanda MSF Belgium Coordinator in Rwanda, ‘Summary so that refugees in Goma, other refugee camps in Rwanda, of incidents with RPF,’ MSF internal report, 9 and in neighbouring countries can return to their places July 1994 (in English). of origin… If a sustainable political solution is not found quickly, we anticipate an even greater disaster in Bukavu Extract: within the next month. The French army’s mandate expires Rilima and the ICRC/MSFB cooperation: at the end of August and the question of UNAMIR repla- Because MSFB agreed to take care of all health services cements has not yet been resolved. If UNAMIR, in its in this location, ICRC was offering us their local staff current status, were to take on the French government’s [see above, footnote 2]. Because many of them fear the role, the RPF would be able to break through in southwes- RPF command, they guaranteed security in case we would tern Rwanda - meaning that massacres would probably work with these people. I asked the respect of their status continue. The millions of displaced persons in the French according to the Geneva Convention and demanded equal security zone would have to flee towards Bukavu, Zaire… treatment for any staff under the MSF flag, as for those The organisation says growing political problems are com- under ICRC flag. The answer was negative and after Karin pounding the humanitarian catastrophe. Tensions with Michotte was pushing a bit they told us: “some NGOs the local population are breaking out in areas where refu- have already been removed from our territory because gees are gathered… Furthermore, the camps may serve of espionage”. The message was clear. They demanded as ideal recruiting grounds and entry points for extremist to have screening access to our staff in order to remove militias. In this regard, the militias enjoy a considerable ‘undesirable’ persons. advantage given that, to the extent possible, people take Upon arrival of the staff in Rilima (still ICRC protected) refuge in the camps. the intimidation started again. The first night armed personnel accompanied by the RPF nurse working with us, entered the hospital by threatening the guard, went to the surgical ward and sneaked out with a woman and her child before we could be alerted. They had said that ‘MSF Holland position on Rwandese refugee the woman “had stolen the child”. They were never seen crisis,’ 20 July 1994 Internal document (in again. The same night we had to remove three armed English). individuals from our hospital compound. The next day a certain Mister Richard Rutatiiwa showed up Extract: with armed escort and talked to me in a very humiliating Background: tone, stating that ICRC was always difficult and that MSF It has been suggested that the reason behind these flows was more practical. He wrote in his note book: ”separate MSF and ICRC, priority 1.” He made sure that I could read what he wrote. I asked 3. The UNHCR’s first estimate of 1.2 million people was reduced following field him to remove his armed personnel from the hospital and investigations and aerial photographs. Source: Goma Epidemiological Group, “ Public Health impact of Rwandan Refugee Crisis: What happened in Goma, Zaire, he refused. 28 July 1994? ”The Lancet 345 (February 1995): pp. 339-344. I amquitesure that anumberofthemwerekilled. real opendoorpolicytoletthe ICRCgobacktotheprisoners. ners’ protection.Butthisfaded intheend.Therewasnota managed tofollowthem and togivethe normalICRC priso assembled allthestaffandtookthemtojailintrucks.ICRC we wereleavingandtheywantedtograbthestaff.They Kampala, theysurroundedthehospitalbecausethought left RilimaandwasontheroadtopickupEricGoemaerein have suchathingpointedatyourhead…AfterIhadjust were notgoingtopullthetriggerbutitwasverynice you donotmovenow,wewillblowyourheadoff”.They alarming. They pointed a hand grenade at him saying, “ If intimidation oftheICRCrepresentativeinNyanza.Itwas ning. Intimidationbecameverystrong.Iwitnessedthe Hutu trainedhospitalpersonnel.ICRCrefusedatthebegin names oftheICRCstafffromGitaramawhoweremostly ked theRPFtotrysplitourunity…Thewanted working with you. So we did and it worked well. This provo our forcesandifyoufeellikeworkingwithus,I on theoperationblock.Thenwesaid:thesearetimestojoin bomb hittheothersurgeoninKigali;Ithinkhelefthisleg prison. The ICRC hasvisitation rights. hospital employee),whoweretransferredtotheRilima former ICRClocalstaffmembersandoneMSFBelgium Bugesera region, and arrested 33 people (including 32 On 29and30July,theRPFsurroundedareaofRilima, Extract: red to the KingFaisalHospital in Kigali.) facility willclosenextweekandthe45patientstransfer- (In Rilima,MSFhas1IPDwith300bedsandOPD.The They will probably be released after their interrogations. ning oftheweek.TheICRChasrighttovisitthem. 1 hospitalemployeewerejailedbytheRPFatbegin- Other news:32formerlocalstaffmembersoftheICRCand Extract: […], MSF Belgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994 (inEnglish). We in the whole region. Their surgeon freaked out. A together inBugeserabecauseitwastheonlyhospital metICRCinNyanzaandweendedupworking Geneva (in French). France, DHA, Europe Tiers Monde, MD, UNHCR ECHO, AGCD,AideetAction,Fondationde August 1994(transmittedtoallsectionsand MSF Belgium/Rwanda,Sitrep,25July–8 MSF Internationaltosections(inEnglish). Update on Rwandan crisis, 4 August 1994, from - - - development about theRPF violence hehad observed. Rwanda toldtheDutchministerforcooperationand While inKampala,theMSFBlegiumCoordinator for their arrival. country where reception facilities were not prepared refugees werestilltooweaktobeablereturna vers andUNAMIRtroopsinRwanda.Hestatedthatthe He alsocalledforthepresenceofinternationalobser - international community to increase its aid to Rwanda. call onbehalf of theentireMSFmovement askingthe French section’spresident,PhilippeBiberson,issueda During a 4August press conference in Goma, the to The Hague and bring ittoyou.” That was the deal. mission wheremymandateisstrictlymedical.Iwillcome giving you,politicians,astatementonhumanrightsin because Icannotcompromisethepeopleinfieldby my contract with the emergency pool of MSF Belgium as soonIambackinHolland,haveended I said:“Iwill,butnotnow.willwritethisdownforyou knew. Hesaid:“okwhydon’tyouwritethisdownforme?” wanted toknoweverythingandItoldhim rything andthatthereisalotIwanttotellyou.”He Holland whichgivemetheideathatyoudon’tknoweve- tood thatyouhavebeenstatingthingsinthepress ral to brief him on events that are not very nice. I unders- selves. rounded usandwantedthepatients.Wedefendedour- from entering. We were literally under siege. They had sur- the hospital.Bysomemiracle,wemanagedtokeepthem […], MSFBelgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). from RwandaandIamwaitingformydirectorgene- what Iwasdoing.said:‘havejustcomeback I metministerJanPronkinKampala.Heaskedme were setuponbytheRPF,whichhadcordonedoff in theRilimahospital, where MSFwasworking. We Many ofthevictimsthismassroundupendedup Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director (in French).

29 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

“Rwanda: Death Rate Still Unacceptable,” MSF Sitrep from Samantha Bolton, MSF France Press Release, 3 August 1994 (in Communication Officer in East Africa to MSF French). communication departments, 5 August 1994 (in English). Extract: Operation Turquoise began 1 month ago but the issue Extract: of refugee return--the key to avoiding a humanitarian The press conference went well and we got good coverage. catastrophe--remains unresolved. They have received no Philippe spoke of security problems and how there needs guarantee from the international community that they to be international observers and UNAMIR troops throu- will be able to return under normal conditions. Deploying ghout Rwanda to ensure safety. He added that at this an international military force under a UN mandate is the moment in time most of the refugees were not in physical key to overcoming the refugees’ fears. But UN Secretary condition to go back, especially when the structures to General Boutros Boutros - Ghali has announced that the receive them were not even in place. organisation has only enough resources to deploy 1,000 Philippe also spoke about his trip and visit to the south- of the anticipated 5,500-member force… On the eve west Safe Zone where “no food has been distributed for of the French withdrawal from the so-called ‘security’ the past 10 days… children are eating the chewed sugar- zone, Médecins Sans Frontières is launching an appeal cane which has been spat onto the ground… everywhere to the United Nations to replace French troops with an people are killing their cattle and very few beans or flours international peacekeeping force. It is inconceivable that are visible anywhere”. humanitarian organisations should fill the void left by the Philippe appealed to the international community to make troops’ withdrawal. They are neither trained for nor suited an effort to bring in food – as the food pipeline is weak - to that goal. The refugees’ significant unmet humanita- into the region or we could face a massive exodus, when rian needs should not allow us to forget the international the French leave, of refugees into Bukavu in Zaire. community’s political responsibilities towards those who instigated the genocide, nor exonerate the international community of those responsibilities. The instigators hold sway even today, operating in complete impunity within the safe humanitarian zone and in the refugee camps in During this same press conference, MSF France’s Zaire and Tanzania. president was questioned about rumours of abuses committed by RPF troops against those repatriated to Rwanda. He responded that MSF was, indeed, concerned that abuses had been committed. He later returned to his comments, acknowledging that he had no proof and ‘MSF Protests Lack of International Response to declaring the situation in Rwanda to be too uncertain Plight of Rwandan Refugees’, MSF International to encourage the refugees to return. Press Release, 4 August 1994 (in English).

Extract: Three weeks after the first Rwandan refugees arrived in Goma, the international community has still failed both to Philippe said exactly what we’d agreed about chole- meet their most basic need in the camps and to provide ra. He made the statement before some 100 journa- guarantees for their safe return to Rwanda… lists. Then someone asked him, “Has MSF heard Deployment of a military force is an important step that is anything about the RPF committing abuses in Rwanda?” I already foreseen, but the primordial requirement is for the said to myself, “OK, he’s going to say that MSF has no direct deployment of civilian human rights observers. Médecins information, that we are concerned, but that we can’t com- Sans Frontières stresses that such observers should be ment on the issue.” What he said was, “Yes. I’m also afraid spread throughout the country with at least two in each that there have been abuses.” It was all over after that. The of the 150 largest communes… reporters were taking down every word. They were really With the approaching withdrawal of French forces from excited because this was the first time anyone had said their ‘security zone’, MSF is calling for a UN peacekeeping anything about that. I felt sick. I told myself that I had to force to be mandated to take over from them. There is interrupt him so I knelt down next to him and said, “Now absolutely no question of the relief agencies fulfilling this you’ve got to take back what you said because we don’t role for which they are untrained and unsuited. have the right to say that. We don’t have any evidence.” He said, “I can’t, I’ve just said it.” I got up and said, “I just want to clarify something. This is our president’s first press conference in English. What he was trying to say is that we’ve heard lots of things but we don’t have any evidence. 30 We are not in a position to say whether they are true or (citizen’s network) withlegalsupportfrom MSFFrance MSF Belgium then created the ‘Réseau des citoyens’ he repeatedthatrequestin theBelgiandaily,LeSoir. nisations takeanactiverole inRwanda.On11August, its observersandaskedthat privatehumanrightsorga- president ofMSFBelgiumcalled ontheUNtoincrease On 10 August, during a Brussels press conference, the harassment. no evidencethatrefugeesaresubjectto“widespread” may haveoccurred,KhansaidinKigali,buttheUNhas widespread abuse at the hands of RPF soldiers. “Incidents” Rwandan refugeesreturninghomewerenotsuffering Shahryar Khan, UN special envoy to Rwanda, said that in thehumanitarianzoneunderFrenchforces’control… kidnapped four young villagers in the area east of Kibuye, Rambeau announcedinGoma(Zaire)thattheRPFhad On Friday,OperationTurquoisespokesmanColonelAlain land”… to deterandpreventrefugeesfromreturningtheir said thatthisinformationwaspartof“effortsintended mitted abusesagainstrefugees…Thedefenceminister government, deniedreportsthatRPFsoldiershadcom vice presidentanddefenceministerinthenewRwandan nal radiostation,RadioRwanda,GeneralPaulKagame, In anAugust6verbatimbroadcastoverRwanda’snatio refugees. Turquoise spokesperson,thatRPFsoldiershadabused denied astatementmadeon5AugustbytheOperation government’s vice president and defence minister, On 6August,GeneralPaulKagame,thenewRwandan not have said that. He saidI’ddonetherightthingandweshouldabsolutely director to alert him and ask if I’d done something stupid. Jean-François Alesandrini,MSFFrance’scommunications MSF’s position.Youmaynotquoteusonthat.”Icalled “Is thatclear? We donot have evidence and thisisnot pretty wellandwerewonderingwhattothink.Irepeated: myself poorly.”Thereporterslookedatme.Theyknewme English. Wehavenoevidenceonthisquestion.Iexpressed not.” Ilookedathimandhesaid,“Yes,apologiseformy Extract: Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, August 1994(in French). Against Refugees,’LeMonde(France),7-8 ‘Rwanda: NewGovernmentDeniesAbuses East Africa, 1994-1995 (inFrench) - - the Rwandan judiciary system. urgently focusedonprovidingtechnicalassistanceto and otherHumanRightsorganisations.ThisnewNGO ‘disappearances’on the RFPside. conduct immediateinvestigationsintorecentrumoursof which is why MSF insists that specialised organisations refugees onlyifpeopleareguaranteedpropertreatment, to the French security zone. These measures will attract by internationalaidorganisationsjustastheyaredrawn Gitarama, drawing people to a‘health zone’administered MSF Francehasestablishedhealthaidstationsaround and threeclinicsinButarebackintooperation.Further, refugees. MSFwillsimultaneouslybringthehospital zone) toButareprovidemedicalcarereturning ‘way station’ alongthe Gikongoro road (in the Turquoise country, which is why the organisation will open the first possible shouldbedonesothatpeopledonotleavetheir camps in Bukavu. However, MSF believes that everything Humanitarian organisationsarenowpreparingtoorganise cement ofrefugeesheadingtowardBukavuwillfollow. soon. Everyonefearsthatamassiveadditionaldispla- critical because the French army is going to withdraw increase the sense of safety… This action is all the more bility. Themassivepresenceofobserverswillsignificantly asks themanyspecialisedNGOstotakeonthatresponsi- an explicitmandatetomonitorhumanrights,butalso MSF callsontheUNtosendUNAMIRtroopsinforcewith Extract: in Rwanda.Some 450monitorsareneeded, stationedin action. Thereare currently20UNhumanrights observers have assuredmethattheycompletely supportthiskindof go intothefieldandremain there.AuthoritiesinKigali International Associationof DemocraticLawyersmust Watch, CommonCause,Avocats SansFrontières,andthe and ethnicgroups.Organisations likeAmnesty,Africa three yearstorebuildrelationshipsamongcommunities in thefieldwhowillremainon-siteforsixmonthsto situations. Wemustcreateanorganisationofdiplomats tor, similartothemonitor’sroleinconflictprevention shift fromaninvestigativeroletooneofpermanentmoni - new dimensioninhumanitarianaid.Wewillaskthemto their policy.Thisis a significant ‘first’ andrepresentsa We willcallonhumanrightsorganisationstochange Extract: Press Release,10August1994(in French). Rights Monitoring in Rwanda,’MSFBelgium ‘Médecins SansFrontièresCallsforHuman (Belgium), 11 August1994(inFrench). Moreels, PresidentofMSFBelgium,LeSoir ‘Opinions etdébats,’VerbatimwithRéginald

31 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

each of the country’s communes and employed by the UN and private, non-profit organisations. Minutes of the International Council teleconference on Rwanda, 10 August 1994 (in French).

Extract: Human Rights organisations exist to denounce viola- Human rights observers: human rights organisations typi- tions committed by governments, but when there is cally operate on a short-term basis, but some are consi- no government, when there is only chaos- they’re at dering sending permanent observers to Rwanda. However, a loss what to do. There were no (Human Rights) organisa- that will take time. Because of its medical activities, MSF tions present, but when Réginald Moreels made his appeal will not be involved directly in monitoring compliance in the media they all woke up and said «we totally agree, with human rights but has decided to send a ‘facilitator’ to but we’re not used to working in these types of situation». Rwanda. We are expecting names and suggestions today. MSF offered to take a certain number of representatives of MSF will continue to encourage initiatives and is ready these organisations to the field and Réginald ask me to to support actions financially, logistically and otherwise. accompany them. We went to Rwanda for 15 days to see what they could do for the country… We ended up outlining a number of possible pragmatic actions that no Human Rights organisation as such could implement. A minimum of things that we considered necessary, realistic and relatively ‘MSF and Human Rights in Rwanda,’ Le positive, and that did not have any negative effects. Thus Zarwabuta No. 1, (internal newsletter on the MSF and these organisations decided to create together the Rwandan crisis), MSF France, 25 August 1994 Réseau des Citoyens (The Citizen’s Network) which was ope- (in French). rational immediately: it thus received funding from the Extract: French and Belgian sections. Six months later, the bilateral In late July, MSF International decided to undertake a lob- cooperation was to be set up. Once there is peace, everyone bying campaign to increase the presence of human rights is there to implement development programmes. But what observers among the Rwandans. The effort was targeted about before that? We reconstituted a legal library by at the international community (UN and member states) buying books in Zaire on the civil and penal codes etc. We and sought to augment the number of UN observers. provided a photocopier. We bought paper for the General Pressure was also directed at private non-profit organisations like Amnesty International, Avocats Sans Frontières, Prosecutor: the very basics. We looked for lawyers. We the International Federation of Human Rights, and Africa worked with the Justice Ministry in order to set up two rapid Watch. Some of these organisations were conducting eva- refresher courses for magistrates and judicial investigators. luations in the region, with the goal of creating on-site These are people that are officially authorised to take depo- permanent teams to investigate the course of the geno- sitions, to issue the document required to open an enquiry, cide (registering victims and establishing files) and cur- to arrest people in due form (name of the person, place, rent abuses in the camps, as well as elsewhere in Rwanda. date etc). The prisons were full of people who shouldn’t The second goal was to station MSF legal volunteers in have been there as they had not been arrested according to Goma, Kigali, Benaco, and Bukavu. They would serve as the rules and because the army is not authorised to arrest liaisons between the teams collecting information on their people. missions and these independent human rights observers.

Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF legal advisor (in French).

During the same period, ill prisoners disappeared from the King Faisal hospital in Kigali, where an MSF Holland team was working. Since beginning its activities in MSF’s international council decided to send ‘facilita- early June, this team had been subjected to pressure tors’4 to Rwanda, Zaire (Goma) and Tanzania. Their job from soldiers guarding these prisoners. was to collect information on the situation and, specifically, on the existence of power structures linked to the génocidaires in the camps.

4. These ‘facilitators’ are also called ‘human rights Officers’,’information officers’ , ‘legal officers’... In August 1994, the Dutch section sent two legal officers were to Goma and Benaco. The French section sent 32 one to Kibeho. chartered bythe InternationalOrganisation forMigration threats against thosepreparingtoreturn.The seventrucks ral daysbutwascancelled yesterday morningfollowing Rwanda wasorganisedvery quietlyoverthelastseve- The firstconvoyofrefugees scheduledtoleaveZairefor Extract: for 16July was cancelled. rable tothatposition.Thefirstmassreturnscheduled Rwanda, UNHCRandaidorganisationswerenotfavou - rumours ofabusesagainst those who returnedto to Rwanda.But given the refugees’ poor health and of therefugeesanddisplacedpersons‘rapid’return On 11August,theUNSecurityCouncilspokeinfavour disappearance? Is therealistoftheprisonersinordertomonitortheir Question to ICRC: any trace of the disappeared prisoners? that ICRC might havefound them. The disappearedprisonershavenotbeenfound.Itseems There isnolongeranymilitary presence inthehospital. Situation –12 August 1994 the room. At thesametime,fourRPAsoldierswereobservednear ning awayfromthegeneratorroom,pursuedbyasoldier. One nightinearlyAugust,aprisonerwasobservedrun- Prisoner disappearances: - Amilitary presence in thehospital - Selecting or guardingpatients MSF cannot agree to: surveillance. Armed men were circulating in thehospital. being guardedandaskedMSFtotakechargeoftheir The armywasnotpleasedthattheprisonerswere Tensions with the RPF: rapy) - Theremaining28wereplacedunderatent(physiothe - Eight hospitalised forserious illnesses regular patients according to their treatment needs: guilty ofmurder.Theotherprisonerswerehousedlike of theminthegeneratorroombecausetheywerefound prisoners have since been brought there. The army put 19 King Faisalhospital.Patientsincludeillprisoners.Other 6 June1994:MSFHollandhasstartedaprogramatthe Extract: French). Return,’ Anne LeCoz,‘Rwanda:TheRefugees‘Impossible French). Summary ofeventson7September1994(in ‘MSF HumanRights’MissionOfficerinRwanda, Le Figaro(France),17July1994(in headed toward Bukavu, Zaire. V2 of themonth.Thousandspeopleleftzoneand the ‘safehumanitarianzone’ was confirmed for the end In mid-August,thedepartureofFrencharmyfrom attacks on thetrucks. cancel theoperationtoavoid‘riskingrefugeelives’and killings.’ Byjointagreement,UNHCRandIOMdecidedto UNHCR spokesmaninGoma,therumourseven‘calledfor now inpowerKigali.AccordingtoPanosMoumtzis, that those preparing to return were agents of the RPF, former Rwandangovernment-hadspreadfalserumours preparations, Mugungacamp‘leaders’-officialsofthe Zairian border.Despitethediscretionofoperation’s exclusively fromGisenyi(Rwanda),3kilometresthe vest. Untilnow,refugeedepartureshavebeenorganised to returnwere farmers who did not wanttomissthehar- to Kigali, the Rwandan capital. Most of those scheduled metres northwestofGoma)weretohavebeentransported That day,144refugeesfromtheMugungacamp(15kilo- (UNHCR) crossedtheborder–empty-around7:30a.m. (IOM) andtheUNHighCommissionerforRefugees Rukondo) have observedmajorpopulation movements MSF teams in the zone (Kibuye, Gikongoro, Kaduha and are orchestratingthisflight. Overthelastfewdays, Zaire. Thesameleadersresponsible for thegenocide from thehumanitariansafezone arenowheadingtoward to Gomaoverthelastfewweeks, thedisplacedpersons refugees hasbegun.Afterfleeing toTanzaniainApriland ponsible forgenocide,thethirdmassexodusofRwandan Rwandan crisis,specificallysanctionsagainstthoseres - In theabsenceofapoliticalframeworkforresolving Extract: security zone togoBukavu. soldiers believethat800,000peoplearewaitinginthe people leftthesecurityzoneheadingfurtherwest.French soldiers, 1,000peopleintotalleftforBukavuand700 the border toward Bukavu. Today, according to French per hour were leaving the security zone and crossing UNHCR estimatesthatupuntilyesterday,1,000Rwandans Extract: 1994 (inFrench). Begun,’ MSFFrancePressRelease,13August ‘The ThirdExodusofRwandanRefugeeshas (in French). communication departments, 11 August 1994 Message fromthepressofficerinGomatoMSF

33 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

heading toward Cyangugu and encouraged by members In its 17 August edition5, the French daily newspaper of the former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR). These teams Le Monde reported statements by refugees in Burundi will evaluate the current situation in this part of Rwanda. who confirmed that they had been victims of abuses by If the international community does not act in the coming RPF soldiers in Rwanda. days to protect the populations, the consequences of this third exodus could be as tragic as those preceding it.

‘Fleeing RPF Abuses, 2,500 Rwandans Arrive Daily in Burundi,’ Le Monde (France), 17 August In the summer 1994 issue of MSF Belgium’s internal 1994 (in French). publication, the director general reported on his visit to Rwanda’s RPF zone several weeks earlier, and raised Extract: questions about MSF’s protection mandate. “Unlike the rumours that are reported, these statements all say the same thing,” said an official of a humanitarian organisation. According to accounts, the RPF locked people in several houses before setting fire to them. Those who escaped were killed. Several days earlier, the abuses Eric Goemaere, ‘Explosive situation: a new man- reached the Saga sector, where some 100 people died in date”, Contact No. 29 (MSF Belgium’s in-house a similar fashion. UNHCR observers confirm the accounts magazine) July-August 1994 (in French). and find that “sporadic abuses,” carried out by RPF soldiers are occurring in the region. The issue is whether Extract: these soldiers are obeying orders or are rogue elements. In Bugesera, 100,000 people and the wounded from two The second possibility would seem more plausible, but hospitals, forcibly removed in the space of 48 hours, are increasing numbers of massacres around Butare could congregating in hostile marshland… Everywhere there are suggest the former. Reliable sources confirm that there the same arguments to justify the lack of safety, the mili- are bodies in the Kanyaru valley. Slightly further east, tia on the prowl, including in the camps. Everywhere the Médecins sans Frontières treated two individuals with same terrified glances, the refusal to speak out, except to bullet wounds… On 14 July, armed men locked some 12 talk in secret of the massacres in April, the disappearances families (47 persons in total) in a Mparamirundi chapel and summary executions of yesterday. Genocide had and killed them with a grenade. Three days later, some undeniably taken place. We have condemned it and we 50 men were taken away by truck. The next day, several will continue to do so. But how far can we accept a situa- bodies were found a few kilometres away. Last, on 13 tion in which yesterday’s victims become torturers? And August, some 50 men were shot and killed in Kiri. Their how can we keep our humanitarian work from being an bodies were thrown into a common grave. The organisa- accessory to the fact, as denounced by [the coordinator] tion Physicians for Human Rights learned of the incident and all the team, who were ready to leave?… Never have and obtained permission from Bujumbura civil authorities I encountered such a tense atmosphere, such a polarized to exhume the bodies. But when they reached the spot, society, with its mixture of hatred and terror. Casualties the soldiers forbade them from doing so. UNHCR quickly disappear from our hospitals almost on a nightly basis, dispatched representatives to Kiri, who found several wit- and the medical staff is regularly intimidated. The doctor nesses. The soldiers tried to prevent the representatives who runs the hospital in Byumba, our main contact on the from leaving the village with the people under their pro- ground, disappeared one day… they say he’s dead, that tection. The UNHCR staff member killed in his home last he was executed along with his wife three children. There Saturday was among those who went to Kiri. is great unease among the teams. Protection isn’t part of our mandate, eh?… Basically, a protection mandate calls for procedures, vigilance, and often-tough action when dealing with disappearances. This lack of clear procedure and instructions means we make mistakes which some- On 22 August, while the president and members of the times turn into a crisis, like the case of the two armed Rwandan government travelled the country to assure guards, accompanying us for security reasons, who jumped the population of their desire for peace, the Rwandan out of the MSF car to kill two passers-by who were walking interior minister, Seth Sendashonga, acknowledged in in a “suspicious” fashion… There is an urgent medical the press that acts of vengeance and disappearances need to repatriate the refugees and to get them out of were continuing. the death camps… but what level of risk can we tolerate before involving these hundreds of thousands of sick and starving people in what can only be another manipulation of their distress?

5. This daily is published in the afternoon and is always dated the following day. 34 For example, the issue available on Monday bears the Tuesday date. so that they couldcontinue working in Rwanda. Monde, inconfidence,thattheyprefertoremainsilent red testimony about RPF abuses told the newspaper Officials ofhumanitarianorganisationsthathadgathe- with the soldiers, whoare still giddywith victory. political authoritieshavenumerousaccountstosettle provide equitablejustice.”Therearealsoindicationsthat to lookforandidentifytheguiltyparties,wewill certainly havebeenmoreexpeditious.Wewillcontinue be tried.Ifwewerestillatwar,militaryjusticewould RPF detachments have committed abuses. They will pearances andactsofvengeancearecontinuing.“Isolated Despite everything,asSendashongaacknowledged,disap- Extract: anger the new politicalauthorities either. Hutu” -solelyonethnicgrounds. Shedidnowwantto in private,tothearrestof30 Rwandanemployees-“all one day?AnotherNGOrepresentativeneverobjected,even common graves, filled by RPA troops, be discovered there tary area,”theKigaliprefectsays.“Youcan’tenter.”Will were seenleavingmomentslater,empty.“Thisisamili - behind theirbackswereseenentering.Thosesametrucks Pick-up truckscarryingprisonerswiththeirhandstied over fist”intheKabutareveterinaryschoolnearButare. her employees,thatexecutionswereconducted“hand said shewasconvinced,basedontheaccountofone mosque was full of burned bodies. An NGO representative to awitnesswhowentthesite,neighbouring from theNzangwacampinBugeseraregion.According RPF soldiers killed 2,000-3,000 Burundian Hutu refugees authorities.) Theysayitis“likely”thataroundmid-May, (suggesting aminimumofcooperationwiththenew remaining silentsotheycancontinuetoworkinRwanda mony regardingrevengetakenbythevictors,butare Some humanitarianorganisationshavegatheredtesti- Extract: August 1994(in French). ‘Operation Seduction’,’Libération(France),22 Jean-Philippe Ceppi,‘RwandanGovernment’s (in French). Civil War,’LeMonde(France)7September1994 Statements IncriminateThoseWhoWonthe Kidnappings, Massacres,Reprisals.Numerous ‘Rwandan Vengeance:SummaryExecutions, Le state of the Rwandan legal system. mission, MSF’slegaladviserdescribedthecatastrophic In herreportofthe20August-5SeptemberRwanda is sodisorganised thattheseprisonersare notapriority people whohave beenarrestedordisappeared. Thesystem workers, rarelyseekinformation fromthemilitaryabout Fear ofthearmyissogreat thatfamilies,includingMSF rated. those whohavedisappeared andthosewhoareincarce- today, thatmakesitimpossible todistinguishbetween camps. Theirnamesarenotrecordedonlists.InRwanda prisoners. Everywhereelse,prisonersareheldinmilitary prosecutor). Thereisnomedicalclinicforthose15,000 ding theimprisonedministerofjusticeandnational maintaining prisoners’minimumnutritionlevels(inclu - in Kigali.TheWorldFoodProgrammeisresponsiblefor There isonlyone‘civilianprison’inthecountry- soon. Instead, we must propose somesafeguards. the idea that the army is not going to demobilise any time is resolved.Soitseemstomethatwemustgetused gees returnhomeandthefateofformersecurityzone eased its training. The war will not be over until the refu- ghout thecountryandhasnotrelaxeditsdisciplineor Furthermore, thearmyremainsonastateofalertthrou- expropriation of civilian property in Kigali and elsewhere. the case.Today,this“justifies”army’slootingand be limitedwhensoldiersreceivepay,whichisnotyet a civilianpolicebeestablished.Butthearmycanonly to recommendthatthearmy’srolebelimitedand lian force.Itmakessense,andwouldseemreasonable, is nopoliceforceanditwilltaketimetoestablishacivi- the armyisonlypubliclawenforcementagency.There blem ofarrestsandimprisonmentinstarkrelief.Today, The gradualreconstructionofalegalsystemputsthepro- criminals - forasimple procedural error.”… our judgments - even those regarding the most serious the worldwillbewatchingus.Theyabletonullify legal system.“Whenwestartthetrials,alllawyersin and carryoutarrests.Theprosecutorlivesinfearofthe (when theyhavebeenfound)willconductquestioning code into Kinya-rwanda by hand for police officers, who The nationalprosecutorinKigaliistranslatingaprocedure judges arerequiredandthisnumberhasbeenreached). can beseatedassoonpossible(aminimumoffive judges havegatheredthereso that afirstcourtdivision The illegaloccupantshavejustbeenevictedandthe into a restaurant. The archives were burned to cook meals. and some paper. The Palais de Justice has been turned is nodoor and nowindow.He managed tograb two chairs office isonthethirdfloorofadevastatedbuilding.There justice ministry is completely destroyed. The minister’s Today, sixjudgesand10lawyersremaininRwanda.The Extract: mission, September 1994(inFrench). Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier,ReportonRwanda

35 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

for anyone. On the other hand, under current conditions, All information regarding individuals who have been they represent a significant expense for those holding arrested or who have disappeared should be transmitted to them… ICRC for investigation and to be registered in their central ICRC is currently negotiating access to detention facilities tracing agency. throughout the country. But ICRC’s mandate is a general When we are dealing with patients in MSF custody or one that covers only prisoners of war. The government individuals under contract with MSF, we should deal does not consider these prisoners to fall in that category. directly with the nearest military and civilian authorities This matter should be followed very closely. ICRC’s nego- to obtain: tiations should not be weakened in the early stages. The - Confirmation that the person is in the hands of the conditions of confinement are dreadful with respect to authorities, health and nutrition. Furthermore, in the current climate - An opportunity to deliver aid to the individual (from MSF of pressure and fear, the question of whether someone has or the family). disappeared or has been imprisoned is crucial. We must follow this approach as soon as possible after something suspicious has happened.

During her visit, she also described to the teams the established procedures for gathering information and On 7 September, ICRC nurses6 took five detainees from made recommendations regarding MSF’s monitoring of the Gitarama prison to the Kabgayi hospital near the changes in the country’s human rights situation. city, where an MSF team had been working for five months. The MSF volunteers observed that the prisoners were in very poor health.

Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, Report on Rwanda mission, September 1994 (in French). MSF ‘human rights’ mission officer in Rwanda, Extract: ‘Summary of events on 7 September 1994’, 12 I wanted to standardise the coordinators’ work. Their September 1994 (in French). primary role is to gather information within MSF and externally. This involves documenting each situation with Extract: facts. MSF is not interested in knowing everything about On the morning of the 7th, the first prisoner, Mr. everything. Instead, we are taking on specific responsi- Hakizimana, was brought in. He was severely malnou- bilities for certain individuals whose situations we must rished and dehydrated. His overall state of health was very monitor. poor. He bore rope marks on his arms. He died the night The Kigali legal officer will thus collect information on: following his arrival and was buried with other hospital - Disappearances and poor treatment of ill and wounded patients. No family member came… people, Mr Musonera, 30, said that he had been jailed for two - Disappearances and poor treatment of our local employees months, had been struck and beaten with a club, and had (medical and non-medical), received one glass of water and one dish of corn every - Serious security incidents involving our facilities and day. He had a scar on his left forearm. He was severely those of other humanitarian organisations. malnourished and dehydrated and was suffering from diar- The first goal of this information gathering is to allow MSF rhoea. He was put on a drip and treated, but remains in to better determine the seriousness of the situation and poor condition overall. its likely development so that we can restructure programs In the hospital, the prisoners are in one room, guarded by and develop lobbying or advocacy actions. MSF can always a soldier without a visible weapon. decide to carry out advocacy on its own if we agree among ourselves, at the International Council or elsewhere, but we can also supplement, on a confidential basis, information available to other networks. I have been asked to recommend the most reliable… The international press began to describe the prison Very effective working relationships have been developed situation and the deficiencies of the Rwandan legal in the field with the Africa branch of Human Rights Watch, system. represented by Alison Desforges. She participated at the end of our evaluation mission and I have attached the report she made public yesterday in London. It’s never a waste of time to work with people like her and it’s not like

working with an institution that is going to spend months 6. The ICRC holds an exclusive mandate providing access and the right to visit 36 digesting our information. prisoners in order to provide assistance and protection. with killing civilians. […] four soldiersare nowunderarrestbutnot all arecharged of Rwanda,thusviolatingthe Genevaconventions.Sixty rous civiliansduringthewar against thethengovernment - SoldiersoftheRwandanPatriot Front also killednume- but hasnot acted effectively to stopthem. - Thegovernmenthasdenounced killingsforvengeance presumed dead. over tocivilianauthoritiesfortrialbutmanyothersare small number of thosetaken by soldiershavebeenhanded nities, frequentlyatthehandsofgovernmentsoldiers.A sacres arebeingkilledordisappearingfromtheircommu - accused, rightlyorwrongly,ofparticipationinthemas - - Withtheprospectofactualtrialsstilldistant,persons necessary for judicialproceedings greater resources,hasdonelittletogathertheevidence - Theinternationalcommunity,despiteitsinfinitely begin prosecuting the thousandsaccused of massacres. - thepresentgovernmentlacksresourcestoeven completed a tendaymission to Rwanda: to Humanrights Watch/Africa whose representative just the aftermathofthesecatastrophickillings.According half amillionTutsi,Rwandacontinuestosufferfrom Devastated byagenocidethatcostthelivesofatleast Extract: conquer Rwanda. and June1994byRPFtroopsduringtheirstruggleto Brussels denouncingthekillingscommittedin May The NGO, Human Rights Watch, published a report in garbage believe they havebeen imprisoned arbitrarily. killers, but most of the inmates rotting in the mud and The Kigaliprisonersmayincludeplentyofnotorious wounded tothe hospital.” day. Wehavenovehicleinwhichtotransporttheillor the prisoners,”hesays.“Wefeedthemonly100grams/ civil servants andintellectuals.“Ihave nothing to give the formerambassador,SilvestreKamali,bourgmestres, recognisable toamagistrate.”Amonghisprisonersare justice minister,buttherewerenochargesthatwouldbe position asprisondirector.“Ireceived the orderfrom are illegal,” said Adrian Sinayobye, who returned to his “In all honesty, I admitthat these mass incarcerations Extract: English). continued killings”Report,September1994(in genocide inRwanda:absenceofprosecution, Human rights watch Africa “The aftermath of 7 September 1994 (inFrench). ‘Speedy JusticeinKigali,’Libération(France),

refugee repatriation. the RPFonceinpower)continuedtoweighonpossible (the RPA–RwandanPatrioticArmy,wascreatedby population displacements and abusesbyRPAsoldiers increased monitoringbythenewauthorities.Forced In theirdailywork,MSFteamsweresubjectedto Hutu have been executedor have disappeared. of participating in the genocide of Tutsi and moderate soldiers. Hundreds ofpeople accused, sometimes wrongly, Rights Watchlistsatleast10deathsthehandsofRPF Although thewarhasended,killingscontinue.Human graphed lastweekbytheHumanRightsWatchdelegation. bodies werethenthrownintothreecommongravesphoto- when theyopenedfireonacrowdgatheredinfield.The under FAR control, RPF soldiers killed nearly 100 people months. On19June,astheyadvancedonareasstill out extensivekillingsthroughoutthecountryinrecent observation missioninRwanda,RPFsoldierscarried Human RightsWatch,whichjustcompleteda10-day According to a report by the human rights organisation, Extract: were arrested for possession of weapons. leave thearea.Housesearches areconducted,and3men (UNAMIR figure3,000although probablylessinreality) The RPAdemandedthatdisplacedpersonsfromBirambo people) were dispersed bythe RPA inasimilar manner. All displaced persons in the Rubengera ‘college’ (500 the endof the day. respect oftheselatrines.Thecampwastotallyempty by by MSFalthoughtherepresentativerequested MSF clinic.TheRPAdestroyedthelatrinesconstructed the movement.Nowoundedpersonswereadmittedto several grasshutsconstructedbythedisplacedtohasten dispersed in every direction, with the RPA burning down according toMSF)leavethecampwithinonehour.People Rubengera camp (5,200 according to camp leader, 1,500 The RPAdemandedthatdisplacedpersonsfromthe Saturday, 17 September1994 Extract: 1994 (inFrench). Slaughter,’ ‘Rwanda: PatrioticFrontSoldiersGuiltyof September 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheProgrammemanager,20 Sitrep fromtheMSFFranceCoordinatorin Libération (France),8September

37 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

burnt down several grass huts to hasten the movement. RPA destroyed the latrines constructed by MSF. RPA also Summary of the MSF coordinators Regional made people leave by force the Rubengera College, where Meeting on the Rwandan Crisis, 23-24 September 500 displaced are staying. A similar scenario at Birambo, 1994 (in French). where less than 3,000 displaced is staying. ICRC confirmed these reports. We considered going to the press with Extract: these testimonies but agreed it would be more sensible Rwanda: the government has a growing desire to control to urge the government and UNAMIR to act or investigate NGO activities. RPA strong-arm tactics in the former these incidents. By informing the journalists we wouldn’t Turquoise zone: vehicles (MSF) and houses (ICRC) requi- accomplish anything except endangering our programs in sitioned in Cyangugu; forced displacements of internally the area. displaced persons (Runegera camp, Kibuye). UNAMIR fal- ling into line with RPF official position that internally displaced persons must return to their homes; growing passivity in the face of security incidents (no investigation); high tolerance for RPF methods vis-à-vis displace- On 23 and 24 September, MSF section coordinators in ments (official denial of MSF allegations of forced displa- the Zaire and Tanzania camps met in Kigali to analyse cements in Kibuye). Danger for the teams: mines in Kigali, the situation in the camps and the possibilities for organised crime at night and definite violent anti-French MSF activity. feeling in case of FAR attack.

Summary of the MSF Coordinator Regional Sitrep , MSF Communication Officer in East Meeting on the Rwandan Crisis, 23-24 September Africa, 27 September 1994 (in English). 1994 (in French).

Extract: Extract: Southeast Rwanda – rumours of incursions by former Politics also has its limits in Rwanda, as shown by the government troops in the southeast of Rwanda and also RPF’s behaviour toward its own population and toward of RPA misbehaviour. The incidents are obviously creating NGOs. Nonetheless, we have not reached that limit yet and a lot of insecurity. Killings have taken place as a result it doesn’t justify a policy of disengagement… people flee again to Tanzania at a rate of approximately Conclusion: although our activities are based on needs, 1,000 per day. we must make sure that we maintain a certain consis- UNAMIR isn’t strongly represented in the southeast. The tency across missions in our engagement/disengagement Ghanaian UNAMIR division is now moving into this sector criteria… We have to try to avoid double standards in our to monitor the situation. Definitely an explosive situation. activities. Our approach in response to certain RPF prac- Gikongoro – new info concerning the incidents that took tices in Rwanda should be very similar to the one adopted place on the night from 16 to 17 September and during in response to similar practices in Zaire. which 6 persons were killed and two injured. Witnesses on the scene say that the assailants were dressed in uniforms. This doesn’t prove anything according to Major Plant. Anyone can put on a uniform to mislead people. The house searches carried out by the RPA in this region On 23 September, the UNHCR spokesperson in Geneva caused some panic on Tuesday but according to Major announced that the organisation “is no longer encou- Plant, “everything’s back to normal now”. raging” Rwandan refugees to return to their country Then again on 23/9, 2 persons were killed and 4 injured “because of reports of violence there.” He based his by an RPA soldier supposedly as a reprisal for killing his comments on a report by Robert Gersony, a consultant family. The MSF team also report that on the same day who reported that tens of thousands of Hutu had been an RPA soldier threw a grenade into the Gikongoro mar- killed by RPA soldiers over the past three months. ket place injuring 4 people of which 2 severely. He was Although the report was not made public, it received arrested. According to a local team member in the camp significant press coverage. of Rukondo, 6 persons were lynched when going to the fields to harvest. Militia trying to destabilise the region or others? UNAMIR in Gikongoro told NGOs that they were not sure if they could guarantee their security in case of an attack. Kibuye – On 17 September, RPA demanded that the displaced population of Rubengera camp (according to MSF 38 1,500 p) leave the camp within the hour. RPA soldiers 7. United Nations Rwanda Emergency Office. dence ofsuch killings. Rwanda PatrioticFrontsoldiers, whoaremostlyTutsi,had it hired had found a “consistent pattern” showing that said in areport issued Friday in Geneva that a consultant The officeoftheUNHigh CommissionerforRefugees proof.” man said.“Thesearesensitiveallegationsmadewithout undermine itwithuninvestigatedrumours,”thespokes - “We certainlywanttosupportthisgovernment,not claims,” a UNEmergency Office spokesman said. Refugees, “gavenophysicalorforensicevidenceofits The report, by the office of the UN High Commissioner for on rumours. country, saidthereportlackedevidenceandwasbased which iscoordinatingUNoperationsinthecentralAfrican tically killing Hutu. The UN Rwanda Emergency Office, soldiers ofthenewRwandangovernmentweresystema- Sunday overareportbytheUNrefugeeagencythatTutsi Two United Nations agencies were at loggerheads on Extract: (UNREO son for the United Nations Rwanda Emergency Office on killingscommittedbyRPAsoldiers.Aspokesper- On 24September, UNAMIR denied having information ted toRwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) soldiers. Rwanda were returning, fleeing acts of vengeance attribu- growing number of Hutu refugees who had gone back to Thursday, aUNHCRofficialinGoma,Zairenotedthat repatriation fromneighbouringcountries,”hesaid.On decided toceaseallassistancevoluntaryrefugee “As of10daysago,we’vebecomeconcernedandhave violence carried out there.” refugees toreturntheircountry“becauseofreports that theagency“isnotcurrentlyencouraging”Rwandan On Friday,23September,aUNHCRspokespersonannounced Extract: 7 ) announcedthattherewasnoforensicevi- 26 September 1994 (inEnglish). killings’, ‘Two UNagenciesatoddsonreportofRwanda September, 1994 (inFrench). Return,’ ‘UNHCR NoLongerEncouragingRefugeesto Le Monde (France) (from AFP), 25-26 International HeraldTribune(Europe) Sunday that it stoodbyits report. rity Hututribe.TheHighCommissionerforRefugeessaid harassed, intimidatedandkilledmembersofthemajo- decided not to becomeinvolved in thisoperation. repatriated refugees. MSF Belgium and MSF France responsibility forfeeding,treatingandprotectingthe its actiontotransportfunctions,noUNagencytook for internally displaced persons and UNAMIR limited prefecture. BecauseUNHCRwasnotmandatedtocare persons fromGikongorototheircommunesinButare supervision beganrepatriatinginternallydisplaced On 24September,OperationHomewardunderUNAMIR interview. such actions is the unavoidable conclusion of the team’s An unmistakablepatternofsystematicRPAconduct - killing of returnees […] - killings of asylum seekers […] - pursuit of hiddenpopulations. […] placed populations. […] - Housetohousekillingsandattacksonvillagesdis - mass killings atmeetings […] and theelderly were consistently reported. […]: nate killingsofmen,women,children,includingthesick Hutu populationsbytheRPA.[…]Largescaleindiscrimi- and sustainedkillingspersecutionoftheircivilian to remainasofearlySeptember–thescenesystematic Prefecture have been –andinsomecaseswerereported Prefecture andthesoutherneasternareasofKigali […] 1. Significant areas of Butare Prefecture, Kibungo Extract: operation, lack ofsecurityguaranteeslack ofassistance responsibility (no agencywantstotake on theoverall Fear predominates.Given the UN’sfailuretoassume of thepeopleondeparture listsshoweduptoleave. Operation Homewardbeganin Gikongoro.Only60percent is no sign of new movements. On Monday, UNAMIR’s The displacedpersonsarestill waitinginKibuye.There Extract: Tanzania and Zaïre” (inEnglish). of RwandanrefugeescurrentlyinBurundi, October 1994-Prospectsforearlyrepatriation Gersony] beforecommissionofexperts,10 ”Summary ofUNHCRpresentation[ofRobert September 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheProgramme manager, 27 Sitrep from theMSFFranceCoordinator in

39 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

on arrival, etc.), MSF France and Belgium decided not to in Tanzania. In a sharp reversal of policy, the agency is get involved in this operation. UNAMIR’s medical team is no longer encouraging refugees to return home. It will conducting medical screenings on departure. UNHCR is no longer even provide assistance for those who wish to conducting registration and is overseeing the voluntary return, agency officials said. aspect of the move but does not want to distribute current But in the corridors and when speaking on background, and objective information on the situation in the camps. UN officials are bitter in their recriminations about the The UNHCR is also setting up a transit centre in the city refugee agency. Much of the criticism stems from concerns of Butare but it will be inadequate if UNAMIR meets its that in issuing a human rights report, the refugee agency transport goal of 4,000 people/day. The most significant was infringing on the mandate of other UN organisations. aid questions — medical, nutritional, diet, etc. — remain “There are turf questions, which are unfortunate,” Mr unanswered for those who have returned to their com- Spiegel said. But he and refugee agency officials said the munes. If large numbers should return from Gikongoro to agency did not set out to do a human rights investigation. Butare and Gitarama, they would find nothing ready for The investigation was indeed to focus on the mechanisms them. There are only 30 dysentery beds in Butare and 40 for repatriation. in Gitarama. There are no feeding centres in Butare and only a small one in Gitarama. There is no general food distribution in these prefectures and only 1/3 of the sanitation system has been brought back into operation, etc. We must consider several scenarios: A slow and gradual The Rwanda coordinator’s assignment with MSF Belgium return (we can manage by gradually increasing reception ended in early October. He submitted a complete and capacity) or a massive one, which would involve way sta- detailed report in his own name in Dutch to Jan Pronk, tions, temporary transit centres, etc. the Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs. The document The government is tightening the administrative noose covered RPF incidents he had witnessed between May around the NGOs, including lengthy procedures for clea- and September 1994 in the Byumba and Bugusera ring customs at the airport and an interest in restoring regions. the Magerwa tax system. We are trying to mobilise the NGOs and UN agencies to organise joint opposition to this measure.

‘Rwanda behind the screens of the RPF: Report of 90 days emergency health with MSF Belgium’, 27 September 1994 (in Dutch). On 27 September, the UN Secretary-General instructed all UN agencies involved in Rwanda missions not to Extract: speak publicly on the issue of possible RPF abuses Introduction against refugees returning to Rwanda until the results Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) of investigations then underway became available. was one of the first NGOs to set up projects in Rwanda after President Habyarimana was killed and the civil war broke out in full force. As coordinator of Doctors Without Borders – Belgium, I was able to take stock of the situation in the region controlled by the Rwandan Patriotic ‘Report on Reprisals by Tutsi Sets off bitter feud Front (RPF). Doctors Without Borders – Belgium was, after at UN’, The New York Times (USA), 28 September initially being viewed suspiciously and later on favoured, 1994 (in English). one of the most important humanitarian aid organisations in the RPF zone. On several occasions we were asked by Extract: the RPF to provide assistance in newly occupied areas, In an effort to quell the controversy and to protect against in crisis situations and with population migration. In my the possibility that the Rwandan government, which has capacity at that time, I was always present when scouting reacted angrily to the report, might expel all UN forces missions had to be carried out, when frontline campaigns from the country, the UN secretary-general, Boutros were launched or if complex situations arose. This enabled Boutros - Ghali, has ordered an investigation into the me to observe on a wide scale; to form a picture of the allegations. He has also issued “strict instructions” to all daily realities in the RPF-controlled zone and to mirror UN officials not to talk about the agency’s findings, which these against reports in the media. As in every guerrilla are based on a five-week investigation… war that I have witnessed, the mood in the Rwandan war The agency’s report, which has not been made public or often changed from day to day. Many factors influenced even given to other UN agencies, has dealt a severe blow the situation in the RPF-zone and as a result, the way to efforts to get the Rwandan refugees to return home. in which it was ‘governed’. During the period described This has been a priority of the international community, here, I noted a distinct deterioration of the humanita- worried about the destabilising effect of more than a mil- rian situation. This deterioration was so alarming that I 40 lion refugees in Zaire, and more than a quarter of a million felt obliged to alert our headquarters in Brussels and to the burdenon my shoulderswhichwasbeyond themedical reported to me from reliable sources - to dosomething with how thingshappenedthatIhad reportedorthatpeoplehad I waswilling to give people information for them to judge view onthingsandthatitcan neverbeabsolutetruth.But name. Thefirstpagewasstating thatthisismypersonal never madeanyobjection.I brought itoutundermyown people ofRwanda.MSFBelgiumhadbeeninformed.They ticians thatIthoughtcouldchangecircumstancesforthe tions underit-tobeableusethisinfluencethepoli - I quitMSF to get rid of the medical mandate and the obliga- report. to a tribunal.It was also up to MSF to have a hold on that thought itwasnotuptomestartexposingMSFpersonnel political sensetobringforwardtheconclusionsIhadand I I hadclearlychosenJanPronktobethemessengerin them instead of ignoring them… influence them,soitwasbettertobeonboard,talk with alotofrisk,knowingthathehadverylittlechanceto decision togoforwardandinvestinthisgovernment, and he would immediately be killed. Jan Pronk took the finger onsomebodyandsay,“Isawhimkillmyneighbour” being stuckinthecountry,andyouonlyhadtopointyour fication processofpeopleeithercomingbackfromZaireor ted behindthebarracks.Wewereawareofaso-calledpuri- start allowingpopulartribunalsinwhichpeopleareexecu- enough prison capacity, police and judges, they should not things weregoingwrong.AlthoughRwanda did not have part oftheDutchmessagehasbeenthatwewereaware ment, sotriedtofindwaysgetthemessageacross.One was oneofthemaindonorstothisnewRwandangovern- the prisons,andhowtobuildajudiciaryagain.JanPronk return, howhumanrightsweredealtwith,whattodowith the newgovernmentinordertoseehowpeople could donor conferences. The leaders were going into talks with It was an influential time because they were having the vention in Rwandaand discussions with theRPF. vious one.ThatreportwasthebasisforJanPronk’sinter- MSF Belgium,whichismuchmoredetailed than thepre- views and can notberegarded as theabsolute truth. that thesefindingsconstitutemypersonalexperienceand of myability,however,thereadershouldbearinmind to thetruthandhavebeencommentedonbest as informationforothers.Allfactsarestatedaccording sions andconclusionsintothisreportsothatitwillserve have decidedtobundlealltheimportantfacts,myimpres- portrayal than I had given in the brief situation report. I the Netherlands,Ifeltneededtogiveamoreextensive which isthebasisofthisdocument.WhenIreturnedto tion. ToillustratemyfindingsIwroteasituationreport come to Rwanda right away for consultation and evalua- urgently request our General Director, Dr. Eric Gomaere, to the RPF:reportof90daysemergencyhealthwith this reportinDutch:‘Rwandabehindthescreensof When IcamebacktoHollandinSeptember,wrote Amsterdam, September 1994. tic but individual, uncontrolled acts ofvengeance. stated thatthekillingswerenotplannedandsystema- the Rwandangovernmentonissue, the Gersonyreport.Whencommissionquestioned sing theinformationonRPFmassacrescontainedin Around theUNGeneralAssembly,peoplewerediscus- to becreated to trycrimes against humanity. Rwandan presidentcalledforaninternationaltribunal genocide against the Rwandan Tutsi. On 6October, the Yugoslavia alsobeassignedtotrythosewholedthe the International Criminal Tribunal for theformer ged withinvestigatingthegenocideproposedthat On 3 October, the UN’s expert commission char- have copies. version ofthisreport.Ishareditwiththem.Manypeople mandate. TheFlemishpeopleintheofficehadDutch been living in exileUganda could resettle in Rwanda. certain regions oftheirpopulationsothat Tutsiwhohad result ofadeliberatepolicy emptyingentirevillagesin These killingswerenotisolated actsofvengeancebutthe been killed during theRPF’sconquest. Gersony concludedthatatleast 30,000Hutucivilianshad from morethan300Verbatim invariousrefugeesites. vations ofathree-personteamthatcollectedstatements Nicaragua, wrotethedocument.Hereportedobser - viously conductedastudyofacceleratedrepatriationto Robert Gersony, a US consultantto UNHCR, who pre- lable on UNHCR’s allegations. (Le Monde,September30). situation untiltheresultsofan“in-depthstudy”areavai - provide anyinformationtothepressregardingRwanda Boutros-Boutros Ghali.HeaskedthatUNHCRnolonger Refugees, whotransmittedittoUNSecretary-General to MadameSadakoOgata,UNHighCommissionerfor on the Rwanda situation. The document was delivered that theyhavenotyethadaccesstothe‘GersonyReport’ Many inGeneva’sinternationalcommunityareirritated neighbouring countries. This reportthusrestssolelyonstatementsbyrefugeesin refugees, UNHCRdoesnothaveapresenceinRwanda. controversial. With itsmandate limited exclusively to were killedinRwanda(LeMonde,September30)remains UNHCR’s confidentialreportstatingthat30,000Hutu Extract: […], MSF Belgium coordinator for ByumbaandBugesera (Rwanda), from Mayto September 1994(inEnglish). French). tions,’ Controversy Persists Regarding UNHCR Allega- A Confidential Report States 30,000 Hutu Dead: Le Monde(France),4October1994(in

41 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

As a result of the Gersony report’s alarming conclusions, take the report seriously and inform both the Patriotic UNHCR decided to halt refugee repatriation operations as Front in Kigali and the Hutu outside Rwanda that the the current situation was found to be too grave. cycle of revenge killings must stop, and also insist upon the deployment of human rights monitors to address both the fact and the perception of the current atrocities per- petuated against the Hutu? The Gersony report raised concern within the US administration, which until then had supported the new Rwandan regime.

Every day, MSF teams in Rwanda observed tighter RPA control over the entire country and gathered increasing numbers of statements about abuses committed by the ‘Reports Accuse Kigali,’ Libération (France), new regime’s soldiers. 1-2 October 1994 (in French).

Extract: Judging the reported facts to be damning and extremely embar-rassing, the US administration, initially favourable Minutes of the International Meeting of the toward the new Rwandan regime, held additional crisis Operations’ Directors on Rwanda, Paris, 5 meetings. The first meeting took place Thursday night at October 1994 (in English). the Department of State in Washington, DC. Yesterday, the National Security Council, close to the White House, Extract: was scheduled to take up the problem. “We would like to North East: MSF CH is currently working in the area. There believe that that Kigali government is not responsible are 40,000 returnees who have arrived from Uganda since for these abuses,” said a US diplomat who asked not to June. They were allegedly told by the RPF that they would be named. “Along with a serious warning, we expect to receive a parcel of land, cattle and a house on arrival. The provide the Rwandan authorities with the logistical means population in this area is almost entirely Tutsi: They are — including vehicles and communications — to improve pushing the Hutu population out. their control over the situation. Until we see proof to the In general contrary, we would prefer to believe that these killings do - The Tutsi now occupy all the key positions of authority. not represent an organised will to exterminate.” - Tutsi from Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda are settling in Rwanda, often taking what was once the property of Hutu. - The Tutsi are not encouraging repatriation of the Hutu refugees. - The attitude of the RPF towards NGOs is becoming more Tony P. Hall (Democratic representative from and more demanding. They are disappointed with NGOs: Ohio and Chairman of the Congressional Hunger They are seeking more long-term investment and have Caucus), ‘Monitors Needed to Halt Rwanda’s pushed out non-effective NGOs. They couldn’t care less Cycle of Revenge,’ International Herald Tribune what the NGOs do in the north. (Europe), 19 October 1994 (in English). - The latest Africa Watch report details evidence of killing by the RPF after the war and the RPF killings (including Extract: women and children) in Bugesera during the war. Recently, a leading human rights expert who was contrac- - An International Tribunal is needed to judge the geno- ted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cide and civil war. has documented atrocities. His report concludes that an “unmistakable pattern of killings and persecution” by soldiers of the Tutsi-based Rwanda Patriotic Front is aimed at the Hutu population. In the past, this expert has released irrefutable reports of human rights abuses in Uganda, Sitrep from the MSF France coordinator in Somalia, Mozambique, Liberia and Central America. Rwanda to the emergency desk, 7 October 1994 Some discount the report, which has been embargoed (in French). by the UN Secretary-General, but senior officials at the United Nations, the State department and the US Agency Extract: for International Development who are familiar with the Security author’s track record are confident of the report’s veracity The MSF teams have recorded increasing numbers of and it’s methodology. incidents pointing to the RPA’s tightened hold over the Will the international community turn its back on the country, specifically in Butare, Gitarama and Ruhengeri. findings and assault the methodology, thereby becoming Although there are only a few direct statements, informa- 42 a party to increased human suffering? Or will it instead tion coming from different regions is consistent. specifying the purposeandgoalofevery tripmustbe gain controlover theNGOs.Forexample, travelpermits “laissez-faire” period,authorities havebeentryingto Government-NGO Relationships: After the grace and to bewatched closely! civilian powerthathasbarely beenestablished?Inshort, confirm thatthemilitaryisgainingupperhandovera ther (controlofpopulationsby‘armedterror’?)Doesthis the historyhere,orareweseeingsomethingelsealtoge - (government’s version),andthusunderstandablegiven ried outbyuncontrolledelementsthatmustbechecked better informed?Arethesestillisolatedincidentscar - we reallyseeingthesituationhardenoraresimply and hasbecomemorepressinginthelastfewweeks.Are It isclearthatthevolumeofinformationhasincreased below) do notwanttogoback,claimingsecurityconcerns.(Cf. Homeward continues to bea flop. The displaced persons - ThedisplacedofGikongoroarenotreturning:Operation Ruhengeri/Gisenyi. be returningtotheGomacampsaftertheirexperiencesin between Goma and northern Rwanda: returnees appear to night in Gitarama prefecture. Reversal of flood of refugees said theywerefleeingdisappearancesandRPAattacksat in Birambo,Mwendocommune,Kibuyeprefecture.They - Populationdisplacements:Arrivalof2,000-3,000people Holland team observed a RPA detentionsitein a school. - Appearanceof“informalprisons.”InRuhengeri,theMSF in Gikongoro. six similar cases recorded weekly in the Kigeme hospital reason offered by the brothers:ethnic reprisals. Five or soldiers.” Theysufferedknifewoundstothehead.The were attackedatnightby“fourunknownmendressedas - Attacks:InGikongoro,twobrothersofanMSFguard priority to arrestingreturnees and intellectuals. in RuhengeriandMSFBelgiumButare,theRPAgave tribunal hasbeenestablished.AccordingtoMSFHolland be keptinprison,withouttrial,untilaninternational The governmenthasclearlystatedthatcriminalswill and MSF-FranceGikongorostafftransferredtoButare). the caseofan MSF-Belgium medical assistant in Butare imprisoned are held without questioning or charges (as in at theKingFaisalhospital).Further,thosearrestedand by asingleperson(10arrestsofthisnatureoccurweekly rances canoccuronthebasisofasimpledenunciation There isnolegalstructureinplace.Arrestsordisappea- tions with the RPA. Burundians are said to be participating in these opera- RPA. Familiesreceivenomorenewsofthem.InGitarama, - ‘Disappearances,’thatis,nighttimearrestsofmenbythe the Butare prison. nonetheless, theyhavebeenforbiddenentryintopartof where theconditionsofincarcerationaredisastrous; in genocide or an attack. ICRC has access to all prisons arrested insimilarfashiononsuspicionofparticipating Gitarama). SeveralofMSF’slocalstaffmemberswere sons thatICRCvisitedarefull(1,000inButare,300 - ArrestsbytheRPAandtransferstoprison.Thepri Several themes standout: matic violence carried out bytheRPF. reports circulatingamongMSFsectionsonthesyste- texts didnotreferto,orbarelymentioned,internal restore peacefulcoexistenceamongRwandans.These the genocideand,thus,compromisingchanceto to providethemeansfordeterminingtruthabout tion inthepress,criticisingorganisationforfailing In mid-October,MSFofficialsdenouncedUNirresolu- assistance (food andhealth care) inthereturn areas. agencies agree).Thesecondreasonofferedisthelackof returning islackofsecurity(informationfromallthe The reasonmostoftencitedbydisplacedpersonsfornot be asclear as possible. complexity of theproblem,MSF’spolicyinthisareamust solution. Peopleneedtoreturnhome.However,giventhe the campsintopermanentfixturesisnotasustainable It isclearthatthecurrentsituationnotviable.Turning Repatriation: and financing type, etc.) certain organisationsfulfillingselectivecriteria(program restrictive andwouldconferNGOstatusinRwandaonlyon ding to available information, this procedure will be very procedure. It has not yet been presented. However, accor- four NGOsthatissupposedtoconveyNGOviewsonthis registration procedure. MSF is part of a committee of In Kigali, the government wants to implement an NGO calm and thereisnothingto report. status. AccordingtoICRC,whichvisited later, thezoneis days laterwhentheywantedtocheckonthereturnees’ Ntiazo (Butare), was refused access to the site several UNAMIR, whichhadbroughtaconvoyofreturneesto unnecessary. Someareasareforbidden,eventoUNAMIR. the distribution.Theprefectdecidedthattripwas to visitaseeddistributionareathreedaysfollowing requested inButareprefecture.MSFBelgiumwasunable for four months. To his credit,heresigned… without a budget, car or radio, carried out the official line deception. AloneKigali-based representative,working activity maybeinflagrante delicto ofbreachtrustand and baggage-laden people to this crisis, its ‘human rights’ branch wascapableofdeploying morethan5,000armed their work.WhiletheUN’s humanitarianandmilitary cracy hasdenieditsdepartmentsthemeanstocarryout ring thetruthhaveincreased,immenseUNbureau - against impunity.Meanwhile,asproceduresforuncove - the UNhasbeenissuing reassuring speeches onthefight in Rwanda and has chosen lies over truth. For months, Since April,theUNhaspurposefullymadealosingbet Extract: October 1994(in French). ‘Rwanda: ALosingBet,’LeMonde(France),12 Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier(MSFlegaladviser),

43 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

As the Security Council was about to vote on a resolution Their active presence in the field would curb the spiral of calling for the immediate creation of an international tri- abuses by showing that the international community will bunal, UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros - Ghali and not allow the horror to be forgotten… UNHCR issued sensational revelations regarding RPF kil- Rwanda’s reconstruction does not depend on any legal lings of Hutu, based on an outside consultant’s report. The ruling, but on appropriating resources to a government immediate impact was to avoid a Security Council decision stripped by its predecessors’ scorched earth policy of any and to test public opinion and the reaction of the political chance to govern. The smallest NGO working in Rwanda class to the notion of ‘mutual genocide!’ is better equipped logistically than the country’s govern- Since then, UN independent experts have acknowledged ment. They government must be provided the minimum that genocide occurred. But it is time to question the means to govern, set up an administration, resume public methods. By hiding behind a consultant to do the work of services and rebuild and re-equip facilities that have been its investigators and observers, the UN was able to tar both destroyed or looted. Given its special relationship with Hutu and Tutsi with the same brush. In so doing, the UN Africa, the European Union is facing a project on which it also effectively allowed rumours to spread without giving can put its formidable resources — expertise and material itself the means to do its own job: establish the truth. means — to work. Otherwise, the RPF army — Rwanda’s only institution with a semblance of organisation — will grab all the levers of power, which will inevitably end up in the radicals’ hands. We must act quickly to avoid a Sekou Toure - like scenario. Appropriate resources could, Rony Brauman (MSF Fondation, former MSF without a doubt, check such an outcome. France President), ‘The UN’s Lack of Resolution in Rwanda,’ Libération (France), 18 October 1994 (in French).

Extract: On 20 October 1994, Amnesty International published “The Tutsi extermination was planned months in advance… a report on the killings committed by the RPF between to destroy in whole or in part a national entity, an natio- April and August. nal ethnic group or a racial or religious ethnic group,” the UN’s experts declared in a report submitted to the Security Council on October 3. The final version will be presented on 30 November. Three months ago, the UN commission Amnesty International, ‘RWANDA: Reports of on human rights made public a report on the situation killings and abductions by the Rwandese in Rwanda. It came to the same conclusion: genocide Patriotic Army, April - August 1994’ Report, 20 was clearly established. The special rapporteur, Mr Degni- October 1994 (in English – in French). Segui, called on the UN to condemn the genocide by informing those responsible that they would be held to Extract: answer for their acts. He asked the UN to “take concrete Reports received from Rwandese eye-witnesses and others measures aimed at disarming the militias and armed civi- suggest that hundreds - possibly thousands - of unar- lians,” set up a human rights observer team and create an med civilians and captured armed opponents of the RPF international court. Failing that, he seconded the recom- have been summarily executed or otherwise deliberately mendation of another commission, proposing to “extend and arbitrarily killed since countrywide massacres and the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for other acts of violence flared up after the death of former war crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia…” President Juvénal Habyarimana on 6 April 1994. Many of The second key issue is the immediate creation of an the killings took place in a series of arbitrary reprisals international criminal court and a team of human rights mainly against groups of Hutu civilians, some of which observers provided with the means to carry out their mis- occurred in some cases before 6 April, but mainly afte- sion. The rivers are running with corpses again in Rwanda. rwards in the northeast. There were also sporadic delibe- While there may be no evidence that the new regime in rate and arbitrary killings as the RPA took control and, Kigali is behind these crimes, it is obvious, on the other uncovering evidence of genocide, took indiscriminate hand, that private acts of reprisal are increasing. Could revenge on unarmed Hutu civilians. There were also deli- we expect anything else after the carnage of the last berate executions carried out in the course of ”screening” months? If impunity remains the rule, extremists of all process. There have also been reports of revenge killings stripes will take that as a green light and the endless cycle by Tutsi supporters of the RPF.[…] of mutual revenge will continue. That is why creating an international court is so urgent. It is also why recognising Amnesty International has known for several years that genocide for what it is represents not only a simple act of the RPF closely monitored and controlled movements morality but also a concrete requirement for restoring the of foreigners in areas under its control. Journalists conditions under which Rwandans can coexist. It is also and representatives of humanitarian organizations rarely why sending a team of human rights observers - planned talked to Rwandese citizens under RPF control without 44 since June and actively ignored - is equally pressing. an RPF official being present. This ensured that before being allowed to killopponents. have alsobeenreportsofciviliansupporterstheRPF suspected ofsupportingtheformergovernment.There pearances” ofcapturedcombatantsandunarmedcivilians killings orpossibleextrajudicialexecutions,and”disap- These haveincludedhundredsofdeliberateandarbitrary since the war inRwandabegan in October1990. reports ofhumanrightsabusescommittedbytheRPA However, AmnestyInternationalhasreceivednumerous be gatheredormadepublicbyindependentobservers. very limitedinformationaboutabusesbytheRPAcould the newgovernmentcametopoweron19July1994 ners. asked ICRCtostrengthenits workonbehalfofpriso- health conditions in the prisons, so the Rwanda team Citizens NetworkalertedMSFBelgiumtotheterrible international community. ganda purposes.” Nonetheless, it has chosen to alert the the genocideinRwanda—coulduseitsreportforpropa - porters oftheformergovernment—thoseresponsiblefor people.” The organisationalsoacknowledged that “sup- to theformergovernment,whokilledatleast500,000 those perpetratedbythearmedforcesandmilitiasloyal killings committed by the RPA is, however, smaller than Amnesty Internationalacknowledgesthat“thenumberof supports these deadly acts.” to justice,Amnestywillconcludethat“thegovernment authorities donotinvestigateandbringthoseresponsible has notreceivedanyresponse.ItwarnsthatiftheKigali says ithassubmittedseveralcasestothegovernmentbut lians,” AmnestyInternationalreports.Theorganisation hundreds, eventhousands,ofprisonersandunarmedcivi- “Soldiers oftheRwandanPatrioticArmy(RPA)killed highly critical ofthe new Kigaliauthorities. and August, the organisation distributed a Press Release on killingscommitted by the RPF army between April Thursday, 20 October, with the publication of areport Amnesty Internationalisthelatesttocryshame.On in officesinceJuly,withincreasingsuspicion.Now national communityviewsthenewRwandangovernment, genocide theTutsishavesufferedtodiscredit.Theinter- The moodhasshiftedfromsympathyfortheappalling Extract: October 1994(in French). Rwandan Government,’LeMonde(France),21 Its TurnDenouncingtheIncreasinglyIsolated ‘Kigali Discredited:AmnestyInternationalTakes in the ‘genocide framework.’ dilemma confrontingMSF,whichfounditselftrapped supporters. Theensuingdiscussionhighlightedthe Rwanda aboutabusescommittedbythenewregime’s and testimonyhehadgatheredonarecentvisitto board memberFrédéricLaffontpresentedinformation On 28October,duringtheMSFFranceboardmeeting, go andcheck it out. in 10daystoseeifthere’sstillaproblem.Ifthereis,I’ll doing more…I’llasktheCitizens’Networktovisitagain Ragd Aburabi(formerMSF,Somalia). He toldmetheywere was goingtobemore“pragmatic.”IthenmetwithDr. honchos”… MrTauxe(ICRCAfricadesk)hadsaidtheICRC up duringameetingbetweenMSF’sandtheICRC’s“head their internationalsintheprisons).Theproblemcame more pragmaticapproachandintensivesupportfrom nudge them in the right direction (that is, towards a Regarding theprisons:IwenttoseeICRCagain Extract: because Rwandan informationnetworksdo exist andsome strategy for MSF. There are places to go for information answers. Withoutthem,there willbenomedium-term down. We’ve got to try to stop the rumours and get We can’t just keep pedalling furiously with our heads can endup with peoplebeingfreed. mindset. If you ask questions, you can start a process that open oureyesbecauseit’spointlesstooperateintheUN where theysaypeopledisappeareverynight?Weneedto How canwecontinuetoprovidemedicalcareinaplace disappearing. shameful things are happening. Entire families are still errors’… Obviously,ifpeople’shousescanbetakeover, There arestillabuses,massgravesand‘regrettable answers. has beenputinplacethatwouldallowthemtoobtain in thefieldarelivingwithconstantrumours.Nothing efforts tohelpsetupalegalsystem.Further,MSFteams standpoint, thingsarestillfragilealthoughthere is becomingincreasinglycomplicated.Fromthejudicial Kigali andGitarama.Thefightagainstthegénocidaires Frédéric LaffontandFrançoiseSaulnierspent10daysin Rwanda Mission Extract: 1994 (inFrench). dinator in Rwanda,tothe desk, 21 October Fax fromBarbaraKerstiens,MSFBelgiumcoor- October 1994 (inFrench). Minutes of theMSFFranceBoardmeeting,28

45 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

people have been struggling since 1980 to defend human teams to keep their ears and eyes open, we’ve got to say rights. clearly: - That genocide doesn’t allow you to do whatever you want Discussion: and it must not force us to swallow lies we don’t have to Philippe: It is not easy to get objective information on swallow… what is really happening in Rwanda. The Rwandans have - Which networks to use when you have information. become used to manipulating tools like lists very skilfully, In this setting, taking positions in the media is dicey. and they know how to present things so they seem to It’s not easy to explain things to the public and given make sense… the short timeframe, we won’t be able to mobilise people Faced with rumours, MSF tried to place someone in the again. teams to try to clarify what was happening with abuses, but that didn’t work. This person was designated as a ‘specialist’ and the information went straight to headquarters without going via the team in the capital. Maybe we should try again but do things differently? Still, it’s a Frédéric Laffont, a reporter and MSF France board strange country where you don’t know what the person member, provided the first information on RPF mas- you are dealing with has done in the past… sacres inside Rwanda to the MSF France board after Guy recalls that at the moment of liberation, 30,000 sum- we visited Rwanda together in October 1994. It was André mary executions took place and were never investigated. Sibomana--one of the Gitarama priests whom I knew and There is concern about whether MSF is capable of and who knew the MSF team in the field--who gave the informa- determined to investigate individual abuses (same pro- tion to Frédéric, whom he saw for the second or third time, blem in Iraq). On the other hand, it seems clear that we not to me. He trusted Frédéric. We saw the priest together must support organisations created to do just that, like in the afternoon. At the end of the meeting, he made a date Citizen Network, Africa Watch, FIDH and the ICRC dele- to meet us the following evening in front of a hotel in gates who can visit prisons. Elikia noted that there are Kigali. That night, we went to the hotel and Frédéric said to lots of rumours. Some are justified but still highly mis- me, “He asked me to stop by because he wanted to give me leading. They don’t have to resort to the kind of violence some documents.” The priest came secretly at night, put the used in the past. papers in the car and left without saying anything. We Bernard: If we witness an incident directly (for example, ended up in possession of the list of everyone who had if one of our employees disappears), then we do have a disappeared in the Gitarama diocese since July. This was responsibility. However, it is not our role to investigate October, so there were lots of names. Frédéric brought the every rumour (others can do that). Today, there is an list to the board and we were faced with the certainty that imbalance between: the new government was not only arresting people, but kil- - The people who are trying to find out what is going on ling them. Who were they killing? How? Why? It was very in the country and complicated. The MSF board debated the issue. As of that - The fact that nothing is happening in the camps (iden- moment, the honeymoon with the RPF government was tification of the genocidaires). over. They didn’t look any more to us like people who’d freed The UN observers are observing each other. Same thing for the country from genocide. They looked like military dicta- UNAMIR- and nothing is happening. tors. There was a real debate within MSF France. We’ve already put pressure on the UN to increase their observers, gather information and provide statements. Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF legal adviser Unfortunately, we have limited power over the UN and (in French). member states. Decisions are made but not implemented. Brigitte: We have to understand what is going on if we are to be able to take action. It was important for MSF to stay in Rwanda in case the rumours turned out to be justified. Now we know the facts. The issue is to figure out In Early November 1994, Filip Reyntjens a Belgian how we can stop these things from happening or speak researcher returning from Rwanda reported about out about what we know. Jean-Hervé added that we knew alarming excesses of the new Rwandan regime and its the situation would be complicated. Thanks to Amnesty’s army. and Africa Watch reports, we can’t talk about rumours any more – these are facts. If we hesitate to talk about RPF abuses, that will damage our credibility and weaken our work. Philippe: Whether we like it or not, we’re not neutral on Rwanda. We’re lending weight to the current government. The government is manipulating us on the refugee return issue and to lend it credibility. We’re silent about the massacres — we’ve taken a wait-and-see position — because 46 we’re trapped in the ‘genocide framework’. If we want the ding 17others. camp, northofGikongoro,killing14peopleandwoun - November, RPAsoldiersfiredontheMusangerefugee 13 November, UNAMIR announced that on 10 and 11 camps and return individuals to their communes. On desire toclosetheinternallydisplacedpersons’ The Rwandangovernmentcontinuedtoreaffirmits of it- of theUNagencies in thecountry is striking. […] 9. Onthehumanrightsside,action-orratherlack and soughtrefuge in theareas under itscontrol. […] among thosewhopinnedtheirhopesontheFPR’svistory striking toseehowfarthedisenchantmentextends,even 8. ManyHutus,particularlyintellectuals,liveinfear.Itis the interior. They have been victimstwice over. […] 7. ThereisaparadoxicaltrendofmarginalisingTutsisfrom ment and the FPRisanother source ofconcern. […] 6. Theheterogeneityoreventhesplitswithingovern- terms ”worse thanthe interahamwe”. […] himself, the”Burundians”demonstrateattitudesthathe according toaTutsifromtheinterior,genocidesurvivor of the Burundi group is a cause for heightened concern: draw upbetweentheoldFPRandnew.Theradicalism Uganda andthatof Burundi andthelinesthesegroups striking differencebetweenthediasporacomingfrom rapid injectionofethnicradicalisation.Wecanseea 5. Anothertrendthatmustbetakenintoaccount:the complicity in thegenocide. […] drawn tothesituationofthousandspeopledetainedfor 4. Stillontheissueofhumanrights,attentionmustbe taken to unknown destinations. […] almost dailybasis,arrestedbymembersoftheA.P.Rand assassinations or even massacres. People disappear on an 3. Thereisaworryingnumberof”disappearances”- diaspora andthe unlawful occupation of property. […] 2. Asecondproblemistheanarchicreturnofformer disciplined army of the guerilla years. […] wing oftheFPR),nowanationalforce,isnolonger factors. TheArméePatriotiqueRwandaise(A.P.R,military 1. Thefirstproblemisinsecurity,duetoanumberof French). University ofAnvers,3November1994(in politique etdegestiondudéveloppement, Working paper,FilipReyntjens,Institutde ”Concerns about Rwandain October 1994” tening to paralyse their work. created aregistrationprocesstocontrolNGOs,threa- dents. Theywatchedanxiouslyasthenewgovernment MSF teams observed growing numbers of security inci- end ofthe year. said hehopedallthecampswouldbeclosedbefore hills. Lastweek,RwandanPresidentPasteurBizimungu closed andoccupantsmustreturntotheirhomesinthe repeatedly thatthedisplacedpersons’campsmustbe Over thelastfewweeks,Kigaligovernmenthasstated RPF ‘emptied’ at leastonecamp of displacedpersons. Rwandans fledsouthwesternRwandaforZairewhenthe Bukavu sub-delegation,saidthatlastweekaround12,000 On Thursday,1December,EmileSegbor,headofUNHCR’s Extract: Government-NGO Relationships: ner than anticipated. Wetake this very seriously. lead theRPAtodealwith dangerthecampsposesoo- given thattheHutuareusing strong-armpressure,could The deteriorationofthesituation inBurundi,especially ded thattheycannotmanage todefineacourseofaction. resolve aproblemthatisbeyondthemortheyaresodivi - tions forthisshift:eithertheyreallydonotknowhowto UN’s voluntaryrepatriationplan.Therearetwoexplana - ring onlyvaguesupportfor‘the general outline’ofthe the deadline.Atsametime, the government isoffe- Several announcementshaveput12Decemberforwardas conciliatory, others very harsh. IDP issue.Ministers’statementsarecontradictory--some The governmentcontinuestoplaycat-and-mousewiththe Situation still tense inGitarama… nine inGashoraamongrecently-arrived(reasonunknown). of refugeesheadingforZaire),16deadinNgendaand to slowafleeingsuspect;RPAopenedfireonboat-load November 22and23(RPAthrewagrenadeintocrowd in scoresofdeaths:25deathsCyangugubetween The RPAprovokerepeatedsecurityincidents,resulting of the mutineers diedandfour were arrested. example, amutinyoccurredinanRPAcampKibuye.One Army disciplinecontinuestoworsen.On27November,for Extract: (in French). Planned,’ ‘UN Commission Emphasises thatGenocidewas 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanager,9December Sitrep from theMSFFrancecoordinatorin Le Monde(France),3December1994

47 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Things are not going well. The NGO registration process and framework the government has outlined, based on the Ethiopian model, has almost been officially adopted. The While the departing coordinator, Françoise, and I Minister of Rehabilitation is supposed to announce it on were preparing for her to transfer her responsibilities Tuesday. An immense bureaucratic machine designed to to me, the Kaduha camp emptied. That was the control NGOs is going to start grinding. The likely result beginning of the ‘eviction’ process carried out by the sol- will be to paralyse the NGOs’ activities. diers. On the day we both left Kaduha, within an hour we saw 40,000 people leaving, carrying their bundles of belongings. They were heading in all directions through the hills. We managed to stop some of them and asked what was happening. They told us that the soldiers were driving them On 6 December, the MSF France team observed RPA out. We returned to Kaduha and the camp was empty. We soldiers conducting a forced closure of the Kaduha called the team at the hospital. They hadn’t seen anything displaced persons’ camp. The soldiers threatened to because it had all taken place in the space of two hours! set fire to the camp. The displaced persons headed for The soldiers arrived and said, “Everybody out!” There was no larger camps in Kibeho and Ndago. violence. The simple fact that they were there en masse, telling everyone to leave, was enough to convince camp residents to go. Over the next few months, we saw the same process unfold in one camp after another. They went further and further south and towards the border. The 40,000 Sitrep from the MSF France coordinator in people from Kaduha were transported to other camps. As Rwanda to the programme manager, 9 December the camps emptied one by one, they made their way to 1994 (in French). Kibeho and Ndago, the two largest camps. There was still a third — Munini — a smaller camp. I think most people Extract: went to the biggest one because the blue helmets were there Kaduha is empty. and they really thought they would be protected. The total 26 November census conducted by medical home visitors: reached nearly 100,000 people. I never imagined that. 40,635 people. There is no question that the RPA wanted to empty the 6 December: The team (plus Françoise and Catherine) camps and set the process in motion. I thought they were finished its exhaustive camp census. At noon, there were trying to push people to the other side of the border. That’s 20,300 people. By 2:30 pm, the IDPs had begun leaving certainly what they wanted to do indirectly, but in the end en masse, most on foot. A UNAMIR convoy was also orga- they used violence. nised. On 7 December, there were no more than 1,000 people in the camp. Most were waiting for truck transport. Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, On 8 December, the camp was empty. Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994 to May 1995 While awaiting exact figures from UNAMIR and UNHCR, (in French). we can say that more than 80 percent of the displaced persons left on foot. Most of them said they did not want to return to their communes because of security concerns. Fearful of the RPA, they dispersed into the hills and, following small paths at night, tried to reach other Following these incidents, we went with the field camps further south (Rukondo and Cyanika). There is no officer, to see the Gikongoro prefect to protest the mass movement on the roads. Only 300 people arrived soldiers’ firing on aid workers and the population in Rukondo on Wednesday and 600 on Thursday. On and setting huts on fire. This prefect, who was then, I Thursday, small groups of displaced persons from Kaduha believe, an English-speaking RPA captain, told us, “But all were seen on the road near Kibeho. these people are Interahamwe and there’s only one way to deal with Interahamwe…” The RPA was the only group involved in the camp closure (contingent based on site). No civilian authority was Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme involved. No physical violence was used. There were no manager (in French) deaths or injuries. The IDPs did not complain about theft, looting or extortion by the army. It was all carried out using verbal intimidation. A captain gave the evacuation order on Tuesday afternoon. According to the IDPs, he threatened to burn the camp if people did not leave. On 9 December, the Gikongoro prefect announced the planned closure of the Rukondo, Cyanika and Kibeho camps. The MSF head of mission in Kigali anticipated the action would harden attitudes among the displaced persons. Closing the camps would not be enough to 48 convince them to return home. V3 Gitarama received thesamereportsand confirmed this and smallgroup killings.Ourteambased permanently in committed, includingarbitrary arrests,executions,torture Vincent interviewed,hugenumbers ofabuseshadbeen results wereverynegative. According toresidentsthat common. A priest confirmed the information. arrests, torture,executionsandgroupmassacreswere research resultswerealarming,revealingthatarbitrary to assesstheresidents’viewsoftheirownsecurity.The MSF FrancesentaninvestigatortoGitaramaprefecture to Burundi. troublemakers. AnyincidentwillprompttheIDPstohead number of people and the presence of infiltrators and Kibeho couldbecomeapowderkeg,giventhegrowing and resistant to theideaof closing. increase, thecampswillbecomeincreasingly‘hard-line’ - asthenumberofcampsdeclinesandpopulations ther to increase theirsense of security. rejected UNHCR’sproposalthatallresidentsreturntoge- toward othercamps.InKibeho,communeleadershave ahead. Peoplearegoingtocontinuemovesouthand sing toreturnhomewillchangetheirmindsintheweeks - thereisnoreasontothinkthattheIDPswhoarerefu via UNAMIR truck or on foot. minority (25to50percent)willreturntheircommunes constructive effort to convince people to go home. Only a civilian authoritiesarenotbotheringwithagenuineand reason forthemnottoreturnhome,”whichmeansthat attitude is that, “If people aren’t criminals, there’s no - thegovernmentseemsdeterminedtocontinue:its thward. - theclosuresarestartinginnorthandmovingsou - campclosures are speeding up. Analysis/outlook: the week after… December atthelatest.They’llgettoCyanikaandKibeho is firstonthelist.ThedeadlinehasbeensetforFriday,12 camps. We’ll have the details next Wednesday but Rukondo planned closureoftheRukondo,CyanikaandKibeho 6 December:TheGikongorosub-prefectannouncedthe Cyanika the week after. Follow-up toevents:Rukondo,nextweek;Kibehoand Extract: residents’ perceptions of their safety. The survey lawyer bytraining,tosurvey Gitaramaprefecture We askedVincentCassard,anadministratorand 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanager,9December Sitrep from theMSFFrancecoordinatorin group and, possibly, an opposition and a leadership. write andspeakFrench,beingcapableoforganisinga be anintellectualintheregionmeansknowinghowtoread, say, ‘Stopbringingus peasants. Bring theintellectuals.’ To network attendthosemeetings.Theyarehearingpeople RPA wants intellectuals and important people. People in my People aredenouncingonlyuneducatedpeasants,whilethe and me:“TheRPAharasseslocaltheadministration. Sibomana. Speakingformally,hetoldtheheadofmission information. During a November visit, we interviewed Father prime minister. Theprimeministeris“surprised” bythe camp closures and creation of openrelief centres) tothe • SRSGKhansubmittedtheUN plan(2-weeksuspensionof UN Plan: Extract: has beenlaunched. the meetingprobablywon’tbeuntillater.Thejuggernaut UNERO haveaskedtomeet with Kagame onThursdaybut not yetbeensubmittedtothegovernment.SRSGKhanand relief centres,whichmeansnothing.Infact,theplanhas Rehabilitation agrees—‘inprinciple’—tocreatingopen to thisplan,whichwasfinalisedtoday.TheMinistryof The major snag is that the government has not yet agreed move to thecommunes by creatingopenrelief centres. RPA collaboration);3)encouragingcamppopulationsto reintegration aid,andprotection/reassurance(UNAMIR/ key communesoforigintoprovidetemporaryassistance, sures for2weeks;2)creating10-15‘openreliefcentres’in plan involves:1)askingthegovernmenttosuspendclo- To putthebrakesonjuggernaut,UNREO’sproposed UN Plan: Extract: than return totheir communes. placed personswouldfleeenmassetoBurundirather tions. Humanitarianorganisationsexpectedthatdis- camp closuresandauthorisethecreationofaidsta- The UNaskedtheRwandangovernmenttosuspend December 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanager,13 Sitrep 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanager,9December Sitrep Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF Franceprogramme from theMSFFrancecoordinatorin from theMSFFrancecoordinatorin manager (in French)

49 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Kaduha closure and wants to support the plan but appa- Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has called on UN mem- rently does not have the political means to do so. ber states to assume their responsibilities in the face of • Boutros-Ghali is supposed to contact Kagame in New the Rwandan tragedy. “The international community’s York to ask him to intervene and suspend operations in indecision threatens to leave the field open to increased the southwest. violence and rapid renewal of fighting,” he wrote in a • The Council of Ministers is supposed to decide on the UN document delivered to UN ambassadors in Geneva. plan at its 14 December meeting. The UN is threatening to denounce the government in the international press if it does not agree to “halt the closures.” • UN-NGO teams are scouting the field for open relief centre locations in Gitarama, south Kigali and Butare, but Sitrep from the MSF France coordinator in have agreed to halt all preparations unless the govern- Rwanda to the programme manager, 14 ment holds off. December 1994 (in French). The general consensus here (ICRC, Oxfam, Save the Children-France, ACF and us) is that failing a last-minute Extract: about face by the government, along with a real effort at I) The operation’s design: persuasion, confidence-building, etc. to convince people UNREO confirmed this morning that none of the UN’s to return, the rapid camp closure approach will prevail. ‘civilian’ agencies was consulted. UNAMIR only notified UN The army will close camps for security reasons and huge agency representatives mid-day Tuesday about the ope- numbers of people (100,000-150,000?) will try to cross ration that was to begin Tuesday night. The Department to Burundi. of Humanitarian Affairs in New York and Under-Secretary General for Peacekeeping Operations, Kofi Annan, were only informed on Tuesday night. In Rwanda, UNAMIR announced that it would also notify ICRC and NGOs on site in Gikongoro before beginning operations. This was On 13 and 14 December, the RPA and UNAMIR joined not done. The failure to include a UN civilian agency in forces, carrying out ‘Operation Hope’ in the Kibeho and the operation’s design speaks to the problem of insti- Ndago camps in an effort to arrest Interahamwe lea- tutional roles within the UN and the failure to address ders and confiscate weapons. Aid organisations were humanitarian issues in a military police operation. That not warned and were no longer able to circulate in the is a problem in and of it. Practically speaking, failure camps. The MSF team had to remain inside the hospital. to provide advance information to NGOs could have had serious impacts on the security of international staff in other camps, the security of local staff and the lives of people receiving aid (including ill persons and children). UNREO took the initiative to inform the NGOs in Gikongoro. ‘Rwanda: Blue Helmets Enter Two Refugee Camps to Disarm Hutu Extremists,’ Le Monde II) The course of the operation: (France), 16 December 1994 (in French). Although it was not a success, the operation did manage to avoid the worst. With assistance from RPA liaison offi- Extract: cers, UNAMIR forces (2,000 soldiers) in the Kibeho camps On Wednesday 14 December, following a resurgence of were deployed according to plan. An RPA cordon was violence, 1,800 ‘blue helmets’ supported by RPA soldiers set up in the hills. People remained quietly in their huts invaded the refugee camps of Kibeho and Ngabo, in south- while the weapons search was underway and suspects were western Rwanda, in an effort to disarm Hutu extremists. arrested. UNAMIR set up a field hospital with a surgical The operation ended in failure. After initial optimistic theatre. It also positioned two helicopters for MedeVac announcements, the UN acknowledged that the key lea- transport to Kigali. No incidents to report and no deaths ders had escaped the dragnet. or injuries. The reduced MSF team sent to the site had to Only 27 suspects were apprehended and 200 machetes and remain in the hospital as it was forbidden to circulate in knives were seized. “I suspect that the leaders, the ones the camp. with weapons, got wind of the operation and fled,” said Results of the operation: 27 arrests (ICRC and UNHCHR Jan Arp, the Canadian colonel and second-in-command of presence at the ‘temporary prison’), some 200 machetes the UN Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR). Yet in and knives seized. Most importantly, no guns or grenades Nairobi, Shahryar Khan, the UN representative in Rwanda, were seized. From a military perspective, those results had just announced that the operation had gone well and are pretty thin considering that they hoped (officially) to grenades and other weapons had been seized. However, make 400 arrests. It seems that the criminals must have representatives of humanitarian organisations say that gotten wind of the operation and were able to flee. this kind of operation could stir up violence and provoke Hutu to again flee the country. From Geneva, our correspondent Isabelle Vichniac notified 50 us that Cornelio Sommaruga, President of the International mer safe humanitarian zone. was abandoningitsplantoclosethecampsinfor - On 18December,theKigaligovernmentannouncedit over food distribution. nal relationswithUNAMIR.AnRPAsecurityunitwilltake neither consultednorinformed.They’vecutoffoperatio- is furiousabouttheoperationandfactthattheywere opposition and the overall impression was positive. ICRC credible force in the camps. There was no panic, flight or camp…” OperationHopeshowedthatUNAMIRremainsa “This provestotheRPAthattherearenoweaponsin questioned inKibehoarepleasedwithOperationHope. no more criminals in the camps. The displaced persons crowd. Theyareunlikelytobeconvincedthatthere greeted themwithrocksandUNAMIRhadtodispersethe carried outsearchesinaKibehosector.Thepopulation with OperationHope’sresults.On17December,they voluntary return.TheRPAdoesnotseemverypleased two-week delayinclosingthecampsandthenexpedited has approvedtheUN«return»plans,whichanticipatesa with the RPA is no longer in force, but the government Hope concluded,UNAMIRconfirmsthatagreement the RPAattimeofOperation Hope. WithOperation confirmed thattheyhadnegotiatedthesuspensionwith the RPAsuspendedcampclosureoperations.UNAMIR • OperationHope’spoliticalresults:unclearexceptthat the camp.” Legally questionable, at the very least. cipating ingenocide”orfor“recentcriminalactivities individuals targetedbytheRPAwerearrestedfor“parti- they wantedtoarrest.Itisnotatallclearwhetherthe RPA didnothavealist but onlyanideaofcertainpeople tion fromRPAliaisonofficers.AccordingtoUNAMIR,the “carrying knives”andhowmanywerearrestedoninforma- UNAMIR isnotrevealinghowmanywerearrestedfor arrests, including 4 people released for lack of evidence. ding aMafianightclubandconfiscatingthesilverware.47 machetes. Nogunsorgrenades.That’sequivalenttorai- at 8a.m.Finalresults:1,000knivesseized,including800 • EndofUNAMIR/RPA’sOperationHopeon15December placed persons’ camps. Information onthesituationinGikongoroanddis- Extract: At theUN’srequest, onSunday18December, theKigali Extract: 1994 (inFrench). Rwanda totheoperationsdirector,19December Sitrep December 1994 (in French). Refugee Camps,’LeMonde (France),20 ‘Rwanda: GovernmentAbandons Plans to Close from theMSFFrancecoordinatorin country. ting theorganisationtosuspendallactivitiesin a letterfromtheMinisterofRehabilitation instruc- On 30December,Actioncontrelafaim(ACF)received criticising those who ended thegenocide. excesses due tofear of being labelled revisionist for People wouldnotspeakfreelyabouttheregimes’ statements butwe’regoing to makecopies,too.” ments onadisk.WesaidtoICRC,“OK,yougatherupyour more privatethaninthelargerooms.Weputallstate bandaging, theICRCdelegatequestionedthem.Itwasalittle would bringpeopletohavetheirwoundsdressed.Duringthe statements. WesetupatreatmentroomforICRCwherewe people’s lives.ThenweaskedICRCiftheywantedtotakethe another. Wesentthemawaybecausetheyhadendangered in. They had no experience and did one stupid thing after on, weorderedthehospitalguardsnottoletobservers lost thepapersofpeopletheyhadquestioned.Fromthen tioned peopleinthelargeexaminingrooms.Oneday,they or sevenofthemwouldshowupwithtranslators.Theyques UN humanrightsobserverseachtimewehadsuchacase.Six by gangsofmaskedmen.Inthebeginning,wenotified from them about theabuses they suffered. vers, andlaterICRCmembers,gatheredstatements hospital that had been wounded and beaten. UN obser- MSF teamsregularlyadmittedpeopletotheKibeho But insecurityandfearcontinuedintheregion’shills. They still housesome 140,000 refugees. fleeing theadvancingRwandanPatrioticFronttroops. Operation Turquoise. These camps were set up for Hutu humanitarian zonecreatedbyFrenchsoldiersaspartof refugee camps in southwestern Rwanda, the former government announceditwasabandoningplanstoclose Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 who camefromthereandhadbeenbeatenorstabbed because atthehospitalweregularlyadmittedpeople W e knewtherewerepeoplebeingkilledinthehills Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). - -

51 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

the French. It’s anathema. People like Alex de Waal, Rakiya Omaar, Philip Gourevitch – there are lots of them. This is Sitrep from the MSF France coordinator in the heart of the ‘new Africanism’ theory. Even in Brussels, Rwanda to the programme manager, 2 January at MSF, ‘new Africanism’ is becoming a political concept. 1995 (in French). People are cut off from reality.

Extract: Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme Last Friday, 30 December, Pascal Lefort, head of mission manager (in French) for ACF, received a letter from Jacques Bihozagara, minister of rehabilitation. The letter asked ACF to suspend all its activities in the country until 2 January. The reason: The Minister of Rehabilitation had, ‘entirely by accident,’ intercepted an internal situation report for the On the night of 6 January 1995, soldiers attacked the week of 19-25 December, that Pascal had sent to his desk little Busanze camp, located a few kilometres from the in Paris. The minister objected to: Burundian border in Gikongoro prefecture. Twelve dis- 1) The ‘biased’ description of the Rwandan situation, which placed persons were killed and around 30 were woun- only confirmed that ACF was engaged in ‘underground ded. ICRC asked the MSF team doctor in Gikongoro to activities’ intended to undermine relations between the perform forensic examinations on the bodies. Rwandan government and the international community on the one hand, and among the different government departments, on the other; 2) The ‘demonisation’ of the RPA, whose actions were described ‘cynical and ironical,’ with the goal of convincing Sitrep from the MSF France coordinator in the organisation’s representatives that the ‘fate awaiting Rwanda, 10 January 1995 (in French). refugees returning to the country is death.’ Extract: Below is a transcript of Didier’s report on the events in Busanze… Response: medical certificate transmitted to all involved Frankly, anyone living in Rwanda in that tiny world and signed by MSF to protect the witnesses’ names. of journalists, humanitarian workers, embassy staff, On the morning of 7 January, MSF was contacted by ICRC etc. who does not agree with that analysis is assu- about an ‘incident’ that was supposed to have occurred med to be an idiot, someone who doesn’t know what’s going the previous night in the Busanze camp. A doctor expe- on. Of course, there are also people in that little world who rienced in emergency medicine, accompanied by a Caritas say, “Yes, yes, I know, but things can’t be all neat and tidy surgeon, was sent to the site. They reached Runoymbi at in a post-war period; face facts, they’re all rotten, they’re 10:30 and found some 30 wounded people at the health genocidaires. You’ve got to gamble a bit on the future. If centre. Six were seriously injured (bullet wounds) and had you start criticising the new government just as it’s rebuilt to be transferred to Kigali by helicopter. Four were trans- an administration and a set of policies… Obviously, you can ferred to Butare and five to Kibeho, where MSF runs a hos- predict the worst and it will always happen. But what kind pital. The group of five had machete and bullet wounds. of positive contribution are you making to the region’s poli- Several had grenade fragment wounds. tical development?” The doctor then went to the Busanze camp. When he arrived, he spoke with the head of the UNAMIR contin- The two large human rights organisations, Amnesty gent, who told him that 12 people died when soldiers International and Human Rights Watch, got it right very attacked during the night. The doctor then entered the early. Alison Desforges, from Human Rights Watch Africa, camp. Five hundred displaced persons were still there. The whom no one could suspect of ties to the former regime, huts were burned. denounced the RPA massacres early on. Because she is very The doctor identified 12 bodies: three young men between well liked in Rwanda, especially among the former Rwandan 15 and 20, six children and three women. The bodies were opposition in power today, Kagame will see her. She is going in the latrines. He examined all of them. to make a personal protest to him about the assassinations Findings: his men are committing. The part of the church associated 1. The bodies bore no evidence of blows (no bruising or with André Sibomana that hasn’t been compromised by the contusions) or rape. The bodies showed bullet wounds genocide says the same thing. Their information networks (1-2 per person) and signs of machete blows. are better than ours. ICRC has protested strongly against 2. The shots were fired at close range. The bullets’ entry the authorities’ actions in the prison. We’re not alone on and exit openings were identical. A large calibre cartridge this. But a deep silence--imposed primarily by a few fans was found in the clothing of one of the women. of the regime--still falls the moment anyone mentions a 3. The victims had not been fleeing. There were no bullet crime committed by the new authorities, calls them geno- entry wounds in their backs. 52 cidaires, accomplices to genocide, revisionists or lackeys of 4. They had been shot with intent to kill. One person the site. they becompared withtheweaponsofRPA soldiersat He hascartridgestakenfrom thesitesandproposesthat IDP camp and was probably the result of local initiative. hold up, that the event involved the forced closure of an • Astotheeventitself,hethinks theRPAversionwillnot command… • UNAMIRisveryangryandpressuringtheRPA’shigh be transmitted to the government. the decisionofhissuperiors,hethoughtreportwould explanation from the RPA and to take up an inquiry. On nal UNAMIRusetoencouragehissuperiors to requestan the MinisterofInterior.Hepreparedareportforinter - UNAMIR troops.HehadcometothesiteonSundaywith in chargeofthemilitarypoliceandbehaviour The majorwasinvolved“justbychance.”Heisusually Marshal (military police), UNAMIR c) MeetingwithMajorMarkCuthbert,ForceProvost witness’ safety and not wanting to set precedents, etc?… this question?”Whatwerethearguments,asidefrom principle, he insisted, asking, “What is your opinion on Although Iexplainedthatwasopposedtotestifyingon ned calling Didier totestify. cooperation in the investigation and the trial. He mentio- RPA tookthisincidentveryseriouslyandaskedforourfull in general terms) and of MSF’s concern. He said that the court. Hetooknoteofthemedicalreport(presentedorally formed andthattheofficerswouldbetriedinamilitary He confirmedthatamilitary board ofinquirywouldbe a grenadeandthepatrolhadretaliatedspontaneously. ponsibility. Hisexplanationwasthatsomeonehadthrown He confirmed the arrest of the two officers and RPA’s res- a) Meeting with MajorFrank Rusagara, RPAmilitary staff UNAMIR in Kigali onTuesday. This wasthebackdropformymeetingwithRPAand should at least have a policy of ‘speaking out privately.’ diately distortedandhijackedforpoliticalpurposes,we the Rwandansituationinwhicheverystatementisimme- clear andtimelyinformation,giventhecomplexityof • Whilewehavenotmadepublicstatementsforlackof cal account of amajorRPAabuse. • This is the first case in which MSF had a first-hand medi- MSF’s Process: of the Gikongoro region. cer responsibleforthepatrolandmajor-commandant force hadbeenusedandannouncedthearrestsofoffi- responsible for theincident,acknowledged that excessive • OnMonday,theRPAacknowledgedthatitssoldierswere Follow-up to theevents: soldiers during the operation. identified asTutsilivinginBusanze,accompaniedthe later, Busanze’sHuturesidentsconfirmedthatcivilians, only rarelyusemachetesasweapons.Whenquestioned not theonlyindividualsinvolvedinkilling.Soldiers 5. Theuseofmacheteswouldindicatethatsoldierswere of the neck. Ababyhadits skull shattered by amachete. broken leghadbeenkilledbyamacheteblowtotheback had beenkilledwithashottothetemple.Achild didn’t use ourreport. They didn’texamine thebodies.Wedid.In theend,they report. The officialUNreport declared, “No knifewounds.” cial. LaterIwroteupthemedical certificatesandashort They’d alreadyeditedthemand hadsentthemoffasoffi- given themmynotesalthough Ihadn’torganisedthemyet. tions.” I was standing to the sideand I kept quiet. ICRC had “Apparently, someone living here conducted the examina- house. He said to Catherine, the field coordinator, Humanitarian Affairs’officialforRwandashowedupatthe disembowelled children,etc.theUNDepartmentof examining bodiesthathadbeeninlatrinesfor10hours, the next morning, after I’d spent a pretty difficult night but theywouldn’tmeananythingtoanyoneelse.At9a.m. Re-reading them,Icouldvisualisethebodyandwounds down as I spoke. These notes made sense only to me. city as a doctor.” I gave the description and they wrote and givethembacktoyou.I’mgoingsigninmycapa - finished takingnotes,givethemtome.I’llorganise the beginningIhadsaidtoICRCdelegate,“Whenyou’ve that thishadoccurredatnight.Idescribedeachcase.From bullets andthenhadtheirnecksslit.Therewasnoquestion women andchildren.Somehadbeenwoundedinthelegby my findings.Iconductedaforensicexamination.Mostwere would examine all the bodies and they would take notes of latrines. Thereweresome20.IproposedtotheICRCthat attack. Theyhadbroughtthebodiesoutofshared tion onthenumberofdeathsandwhohadcarriedout camp. AUNAMIRofficialthereprovidedconfusedinforma- the wounded inthehospital. Then we went back to the people neededtobetransported.Weorganisedtreatmentof contacted ICRC,whicharrivedwithtrucksincaseinjured because weknewtherewereseriousthreatsinthearea.We port and your clearthinking! we’re notdoinganything stupid here. We needyoursup- I needyourfeedbackquicklyonthisquestion.hope oral testimony before an investigativecommission, etc. UNHCHR andICRC).Ourinvolvementwouldendthere--no ties (MinistriesofDefence,JusticeandInterior,UNAMIR, do that.Wewouldsubmitthisdeclarationtoallthepar- the killingunfolded because plenty of other people can pretation, analysisofthecauses,ordescriptionhow on his medical observations. It will not include any inter- ness, tomakeadeclarationonbehalfofMSFbasedonly I propose,contingentonDidier’sagreementasthewit- also know its generalcontents. • Allthe parties know that we have this information. They dent with examinations of the bodiesandwounded. • Itseemswehavetheonlymedicalreportofthisinci- think aboutitanddidnotgivehimanythinginwriting… report (physicalexamination)oftheevent.Isaidwould UNAMIR’s report.Hedoesnotthinkthereisanothermedical • HeaskedfortheMSFmedicalreporttoaddweight way tothecampofKibeho.Wehadkitsready on theradiofrombluehelmets,wewereour When we got word of the massacre in Busanze camp

53 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

According to displaced persons’ accounts, soldiers and Tutsi IMPRISONMENT AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM civilians were among the attackers. There was an investi- Twenty thousand people are currently in Rwandan pri- gation and two highly placed soldiers from Gikongoro were sons based on a simple denunciation. Some 800 arrests arrested, including the chief, who was a war hero. The are made every week. Given the total population of 6 arrests were carried out on the basis of the MSF doctor’s million, that rate is unheard of, especially considering statement. That didn’t improve our relationship with the that many who could legitimately be accused for a role police and the RPA soldiers. in the genocide are outside the country. Furthermore, the incarcerated persons are being held without charges, and Kigali officially requested that I testify at the military tribu- documentation is limited to a denunciation letter. A few nal before the court martial. I didn’t go. The official version accusations may arrive once the person is already in cus- of the massacre was that it involved an abuse committed by tody. The judge does not have the means to go on site so individuals, the military hierarchy did not order it and that that the accused can face the witnesses. In October, the it was not an organised action. Kigali public prosecutor had a car provided by the police department. It was taken away. Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, On 11 November 1994, background work on 99 files had Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 been completed and the matters were ready for trial. The (in French). Kigali court was prepared to address civil proceedings. The public prosecutor received an order not to begin the trials. A selection commission (Commission de triage) composed of the public prosecutor, a representative of military internal affairs and the Ministry of Defence lawyer granted inte- By late 1994-early 1995, the Rwandan government rim releases. The commission operates like a bazaar, where had still received only limited aid8. The legal system deals are struck on the basis of haggling and bargaining. was struggling to resume operation. Nonetheless, the Any given week, the commission releases between zero number of arrests rose sharply. In spring 1995, official and three persons after reviewing 60 case files, none of Rwandan records put the number of prisoners awaiting which provides any proof of guilt. In November, the Kigali trial at 20,000. An additional 20,000 were reportedly tribunal announced the interim release of 40 people for held in local jails and detention centres (cachots). V4 lack of evidence pending further investigation. The army rearrested them all immediately and the judge was later reported missing… It seems that the current government does not consider genocide trials to be a priority nor of any urgency. Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, ‘Rwanda Mission Drawing its political legitimacy from the genocide, the report, 30 January - 7 February 1995’, 7 government seems to think there is no need to examine February 1995 (in French). history and recent memory. We should be suspicious of a tendency to honour numerous and convenient martyrs Extract: rather than heroes. Today, the genocide pits Tutsi victims The Rwandan legal system gradually resumed operation. against Hutu criminals. A hardening of attitudes tends A public prosecutor was appointed for the city of Kigali. to transform all Tutsi into victims and all Hutu into the Additional prosecutors were named for Butare, Gikongoro guilty, which completely overlooks the fact that not all and Gitarama. The lack of material and human resources Tutsi living in Rwanda suffered equally from the genocide severely hampered the system. To date, the Ministry of and that some Hutu who remained tried to protect, and Justice and the Kigali prosecutor’s office have been func- even save, threatened Tutsis. tioning thanks to paper provided by the Citizens’ Network Lack of resources is not a convincing argument. Some (RCN), an NGO that MSF Belgium created in September point out that the RPF was an army of foot soldiers and 1994. The RCN also set up a basic law library open to managed to win the war. “Foot-soldier prosecutors” could lawyers and the judge… The Kigali public prosecutor has do their job, too--if they had government support… just asked us to send him the civil compensation proce- According to government sources, 420 RPF soldiers were dure code. Visiting European and UN experts had not yet arrested for abuses… A military adjudication board has managed to provide them with more than the basics. RCN just been set up. Major Frank Rusagara sits on that board. is currently training 150 judicial police officers who will We know him as the Senior Humanitarian Liaison Officer. be authorised to lead investigations and draw up official For now, the prison death rate is very effective at quietly arrest and interrogation reports. doing the awkward and expensive work of the legal system. In Gitarama, for example, the death rate is 10.8 per 10,000/day. 8. Most of the 2 billion us dollars spent in the whole region between April 1994 and December 1995, were allocated to the Rwandan refugee camps in Zaire and Tanzania. The new Rwandan government received only 2 44 million us dollars. Source: Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda (19 OECD members, EU, UN, Red Cross Movement, 5 international NGO) The International Response to conflict and Genocide: lessons from the Rwanda experience, 576 pages, Synthesis 54 Report, March 1996 Copenhagen, p 29 hospital. health centreseemedto be operatingbetter. We were in the side visitors.InButare,therewasmorespaceandthe least competent,andtheprisonersprobablyhadfewerout - That prisonwasthemostcramped,medicalstaff impression wasthatthesufferingworstinGitarama. shigellosis epidemic…Fromthehygieneperspective,my weren’t capableoforganisingthingswhenfacedwitha medicine. Somehadalittleon-the-jobtrainingbut cal staff in the prisons but they didn’t really have much were awful…TheministerofhealthhadputRwandanmedi- the middle of a shigellosis epidemic and hygiene conditions nement. for illnesseslinkedtothehorribleconditionsofconfi- space was fierce. MSFtreatedhospitalised prisoners with theirfeetinthemud.Thestruggleforliving Prisoners spentdaysandnightsstanding,immobile, men werecrammedintoareasdesignedfor400people. shigellosis. IntheGitaramaprison,morethan7,000 prisoners wereparticularlyaffectedbyanoutbreakof trous healthconditionsinthoseinstitutions.The in Kigali,ButareandGitarama.The team found disas- team visitedRwanda’sthreelargeprefectorialprisons In December, at headquarters’ request, the MSF Belgium country’s prison system bying componentforimprovingthehealthstatusof — limitedtomedicalissuesbutwithatechnicallob- Gitarama; inprinciple,thereisspaceforMSFBelgium 3) Otherevaluationsareplanned,includingatButareand 2) Medical issues: thesituation is disastrous 1) Hygiene issues: muchprogress remains to be made statistics, but atthis point, wecanreport the following: 2,000-person capacityspace.Barbarawillfollowupwith prison. Currently,5,650prisonersarebeingheldina Prison feedback:visitconductedyesterdayintheKigali Extract: in Rwanda, September 1994toMarch 1995 (inFrench). happened to them. They died for lack of living understand what the concept means. That’s what When peoplediefromalack oflivingspace,you rible. Overpopulationisonethingbuttheywerein Gitarama and Butare. I visited all three. It was hor- I startedattheKigaliprisonandthenmovedonto Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator tor, 20 December 1994,(inFrench). Fax fromtheMSFBelgiumRwandaadministra- time to time, someone would fall,faint from hunger, or die. elbow-to-elbow — they were literally stuck together. From of humans.Everyonewasstanding. Theywerecloserthan concentration camps,andcleared apaththroughthismass turned you over to the prisoners’ security force, like in the The prison guards opened the gate to let you enter. They staying closetothebarssothat theycouldbreathealittle. and arms were outstretched through the bars. People were get burned because everyone crowded around the pot! accidents. Whentheyservedthefood,adozenpeoplewould explained thatwithsomanypeople,therewerelotsof ber thattheycookedthefoodinahugepot.The“cook” rifying. Surprisingly,therewerenocomplaints…Iremem- open stallandthereweretwopeopleinside.Itwashor- high. crap onthem.Sothedeathratewas,obviously,extremely away ontheirrottenfeet.Theysteptopofthem,they long so,ofcourse,theyallhadinfected feet. Theyrotted he willmoveoutoftheway.”Theystoodinmudallday that istopunchtheperson in frontofyoutheearsothat moving. You have to clear a path. One of the ways to do thing to eat, all those bodies trap you and keep you from the crowdtogettoilet,reachfood,orsome- ear. Andthesecondisthatwhenyouhavetomovethrough head toavoidbeinghitinthefaceandoftenget step backawayfromtheblow.Soinstead,youturnyour are crammedsoclosetogether,whenpeoplefightyoucan’t ned toyou?”Hesaid,“Therearetwoways.First,sincewe and Iaskedtheprisoner,“Canyouexplainhowthishappe- sing. IconductedthevisitwithanAustraliandoctor,Alison, outer ear. I had never seen such an epidemic of pinna brui- the rapeandviolence…Wesawlotsofbruisingin ping--when theycouldsleep,thatis!That’snottomention were 2or3peoplepersquaremetre.Theytookturnsslee- worse thananythingimaginable.Wecalculatedthatthere maintained ashredofhumandignity.Buttheprisonwas prairie nexttotheprison.Theycouldhavelivedinhutsand ding a guarded camp, surrounded by barbed wire, in the space. Theirdeathscouldhavebeenavoidedsimplybybuil- Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994toJune 1995 were 10,000prisonersstandingontheirfeet.Hands most powerful images I’ve ever seen in my life. There I wentoncetotheKigaliprison.Itisoneof crowded ontopofoneanother.Thetoiletwasan were nodoors.Therepeopleeverywhere, The cellsweren’tcells.Everythingwasopen.There Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF Franceprogramme Dr. Arnaud Veisse, MSFFrance physician, manager (in French) (in French).

55 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

I’ve never seen anything like this human mass. The crowd under investment in prisons if several NGOs start working was organised--the mass of people shifted every two hours there. ICRC emphasises its work on prisoner registration as if it were a single person. The toilets were here, the infir- and follow-up in case of prisoner transfer to another ins- mary was there. Obviously, there weren’t enough dormitories titution or disappearance… for everyone. The huge crowd had to be turned so that once ICRC asks that MSF get involved in medical referral a day, part of the mass faced the toilets and the other part and takes on the job of providing medical information faced the food distribution. It was unimaginable: human (taking into account ICRC’s confidentiality requirements). engineering at a level of sub-human degradation. I’ve never Conclusion: improved collaboration with greater familia- seen anything like it! When you saw the state they were in, rity and better communication among ICRC, MSF Belgium you would leave with a sense of overwhelming, complete and MSF France. disgust. This affects our own sense of what it means to be human. There are two possible reactions. Either you don’t see them as fellow human beings and so you distance yourself from them, or you say, “These are human beings like me and there but for the grace of God go I.” And then you Were we going to go there? If yes, how? How was shudder from the depths of your soul. You say to yourself, ICRC going to react? In the beginning, there was a “How can humans be reduced to such a state of degenera- lot of discussion. Before I visited a prison, I wanted tion? This is nothing more than a stockyard.” to be sure that there would be some follow-up action. I didn’t want to just go to look and say, “Oh, how awful,” and Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director not be able to do anything. Working in the prisons wasn’t (in French). easy, especially because ICRC was “set up” and responsible for prisoner health. From Paris, MSF France was saying, “What are you going to do in the prisons? ICRC is already there. You’ve got to avoid weakening ICRC… We were in a very difficult position. ICRC did not want anyone else to MSF Belgium and France had different approaches to intervene in the prisons because they felt it would weaken operations in the prisons. MSF Belgium wanted to work their position vis à vis the authorities. I wanted to avoid inside the penitentiaries to supplement ICRC’s work, weakening the ICRC’s position, too, but I could not agree to which MSF Belgium viewed as inadequate. MSF France let people die in these prisons when things could be done opposed that idea, preferring to treat Gitarama priso- better than they had been. ners referred to the Kabgayi hospital. The two sections agreed on the need to avoid weakening ICRC, with Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator whom discussions were underway. in Rwanda, September 1994 to March 1995 (in French).

Minutes of the meeting between the MSF MSF Belgium wanted to intervene inside the prisons. Belgium and France Rwanda programme mana- They said ICRC wasn’t doing its job and that MSF had gers and ICRC on the Rwanda prison problem, to be inside. MSF France didn’t want to weaken 22 March 1995 (in French). ICRC’s mandate by separating assistance and protection. We thought we should let ICRC take charge of intervention in Extract: the prisons because they were using the assistance mandate MSF Belgium has issues with ICRC because there has been to provide protection. But at the same time, we wanted to no information exchange and health conditions in the pri- find out if you could take care of patients and improve sons a month ago were shocking. That is why MSF Belgium prison conditions at the same time. That’s what we did. As wants to address medical concerns in the prisons. a result of pressure from MSF Belgium, ICRC finally assumed Georges Dallemagne: MSF Belgium is very interested in its responsibilities in the prisons. They began taking certain working in the prison setting. measures. MSF France position: MSF F is working in prisons in specific cases (for example, Burundi and Madagascar) but is Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator in not interested in expanding this kind of activity. In the Rwanda, from August 1994 to March 1995 (in French). Rwandan case, MSF France is working with ICRC by setting up a medical reference system in the hospital where MSF is involved. No problems with information and communication with ICRC because the two organisations meet. If necessary, MSF France is prepared to do the same in other MSF Belgium developed a medical assistance project areas where it is present. MSF France is ready to respond in the Rwandan prisons. The team hoped the project should ICRC request help with logistics or medical staff. would complement ICRC’s work. Negotiating simulta- 56 The ICRC emphasises the problem of the government’s neously with the ICRC and Rwandan authorities, the prisons. We onlyvisited now and then. site whoopposedtheidea,soweneverreallyworkedin didn’t havetherightinformation.Wehadacoordinatoron for themission,whichwasinterruptedseveraltimes.We but intheend,MSFBelgiumcouldn’tfindrightpeople international meeting.TheFrenchwerecompletelyopposed, to workinside.”Wedefendedthispositionstronglyinan gned onan on-going basis. team wasunabletoimplementtheprojectithaddesi- typewriters) mary (meansofsupervision)andsecondarylevels(files, b) Supportforthelegalsystem’soperations:atpri- a) Rebuildingof the legalstructure: training, recruitment when the country’s legal system resumes operation. priority action.Relievingprisonovercrowdingwilloccur However, theoverpopulationproblemclearlyrequires intervention to respond to the most pressing needs. As amedicalorganisation,werecommendrapid Recommendations: - Create a patientisolation unit wherelacking… as needed - Establishareferralsystemforregularseriouscasesand equitably viaplacementofinternationalMSFmedicalstaff - Strengthentheorganisationanddistributemedicalcare supervision) - Supportprisoninfirmaryorganisation(stafftraining/ Phase 1: the prisons visited. confront thekindsofdisastrousconditionsprevailingin available resourcessothatauthoritieswillnotagain during evaluation.Thesecondinvolvesstrengthening response interventiontoaddressurgentneedsidentified be carriedoutintwophases:thefirstinvolvesarapid management ofcasesreferred…Theproposedprojectwill vising Rwandanmedicalstaffandimprovingreferrals accomplished bysystematisingmedicalfollow-up,super- The priority is toreduce the dailydeath rate. Thiswill be Extract: people so that we can advocate. We have to be able the prisons,wehavetogivepriorityhelping At MSF-Belgium, we said, “Yes, we have to work in Dr. […], MSF Belgiumprogramme manager, then Belgium, 26 January 1995(inFrench). Addressed totheMinistryofJustice,MSF Rwanda’s CivilianPrisons,’ProjectProposal ‘Medical AssistanceProjectonBehalfof director of operations(in French). that therewere noconfrontations.Theyalways worethese that theywere intelligent,sometimesalittle cynical,but Overall, whatIrememberabout thesoldiersinKabgayiis Administrator.” You’ve beenwarned.Thedecision isyours,Mr.Prison do whatyouhavetodo,but tomorrowwillbetoolate. off untilthenextday.You’vegottonegotiateandsay,“You example, ifanescortisnotavailable,thetransportput comes totakingprisonersout,you’vegotnegotiate.For always involvedinthesamekindofnegotiations.Whenit context-- inthehospitalFresnes,France—wewere discussion wehad.Iexplainedthatinaverydifferent the truckwithprisonersoroutside?That’skindof ded attheKabgayihospital.Shouldsoldiersbeinside to Faisal Hospital who couldn’t get the treatment they nee- they calledanambulancethatwasusedtotransportpeople convoys comingtotheKigalihospital.Therewasatruck remember talkingwiththesoldiersaboutambulance -negotiating aboutwhattheycouldornotdo.I which discouraged the soldiers from pressuring them. bility fortheirhospitalisationinamedicalsetting, prisoners inthehospital.TheMSFteamtookresponsi- cooperated toidentify,transferandtreatseriouslyill the KabgayihospitalandGitaramaprisonrespectively, The MSFFranceteamsandtheICRCnursesworking,in they didn’tgiveusaccesseveryday.Soitwascomplicated. were givenaccessornot.Itwasuptotheauthorities–and prisons.» Infact,itwasn’ttheirplacetodecidewhetherwe “ICRC isn’tdoingitsjobanddoesn’twantMSFinsidethe We triedtoinsistbutdidn’twantyellfromtherooftops, MSF-run infirmary. ICRC toldustheyweretakingcareofit.Theydidn’twantan example, theteamwasneverabletosetupininfirmary. dysentery. Butitwasn’tpermanentorestablished.For ded, andhelpedorganisemedicalmanagementincasesof supplies andmedications if ICRCdidn’thavewhatwasnee- nurses, sometimesprovidedabitofsupervision,brought another. So the MSF team visited, managed to talk with the in Rwanda, September 1994toMarch 1995 (inFrench). rifles attheentry.Discussionswereheldrightaway- fairly quickly because there were soldiers with huge The dualquestionoftreatmentandsecuritycameup never carriedout.ICRCalwaysblockedit,onewayor responsibility formedicalcareintheprisons--was This agreementbetweenICRCandMSF--togiveMSF Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator

57 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

half-smiles, as if to say, “We completely understand what you are saying, but that’s not possible, you understand, because…” They would make those kinds of comments, Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier ‘Rwanda Mission, somewhat muffled… On day, we thought the guards inside 30 January – 7 February 1995,‘ report, 7 the hospital had beaten a guy. We notified the authorities February 1995 (in French). because the man’s death was suspicious. We requested an autopsy. I was present. A Belgian surgeon who had lived in Extract: Rwanda for 20 years and had come back after the genocide A positive consensus is emerging within MSF which conducted the autopsy. He was working for Caritas in the addresses: same hospital. He was not pleased that we were making - Our legitimate concerns about prison health, him do this — us, those MSF jerks, meddling in things - What we can gather about the causes of this situation that didn’t concern us. The autopsy did not find anything and the areas where we can take action. unusual. We didn’t get any further than our suspicions and This consensus is based on medical observation. Mortality sending letters of protest to the regional military comman- in prison is not a health problem strictly speaking but der. I remember this incident. Things got a little heated and rather of political will and prison overpopulation. If we our exchanges were a little tense. Overall, my sense was that want to improve mortality rates, we must take a position they played the game and we did too. We said to ourselves on these issues. Medical intervention is still possible if pretty quickly, “We’re not going to be able to keep them linked to efforts supporting new detention centres and from monitoring the prisoners. Their job is to make sure that ending the deadlock over the legal process… they don’t escape.” But they have to let us treat them.” The prison situation requires that we respond in medical terms. Dr. Arnaud Veisse, MSF France physician, Action: Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994 to June 1995 - MSF is developing a clear observation and intervention (in French). policy. - The different MSF sections should take a public position on this issue in Kigali. - An article clearing up all the ins and outs of the legal and health systems in Rwanda would be useful. The We were working in two areas. The first was working government continues to be sensitive to public positions in the prisons and the second was managing treat- taken by international agencies. Taking a position is use- ment of those who were referred, which was slightly ful if we want to preserve our workspace in the country easier. We had pretty heated discussions with MSF France and not be limited to going where we are told. about their taking charge of referrals from the Gitarama - Foreign governments and institutions involved in prison. The authorities agreed to transfer ill prisoners to the Rwanda’s reconstruction are scheduled to visit. hospital on condition that they be guarded so they could not escape. MSF France said, we can’t agree to let armed men inside the hospital. I imagine that there were equally intense discussions between Brussels and Paris. We were saying, You’re there, you have the resources, you can’t let I don’t remember if we asked ourselves the question these people die because there’s a problem with organising from the outset, but we began to have qualms how to guard the prisoners. pretty quickly. “What kind of game are we playing? The prison is like a factory that produces patients and Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator people on the verge of death. We fix them up a bit and send in Rwanda, September 1994 to March 1995 (in French). them back to the slaughterhouse.” When prisoners we brought back to health went back to prison, you had the feeling that there was no solution. Things were going to stay like this. The prisoner death machine was humming along quite nicely. Given that the negotiations didn’t offer much MSF France volunteers in the Kabgayi hospital questio- hope--especially for opening additional prisons — we said ned the limitations on, and effectiveness of their work to ourselves that taking a position might change things. with ill prisoners, condemned to death by the slow pace of the legal system, and living conditions inside Dr. Arnaud Veisse, MSF France physician, the prisons. The Kigali head of mission, members of Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994 to June 1995 the desk and the Paris legal advisor asked the same (in French). questions.

The Australian doctor who was on her first mission 58 in Gitarama taking care of prisoners said to me, “I ties. include mortalityratesprovidedbyRwandanauthori- would providethemedicaldata.Thereportalso and about Gitarama prison. ICRC nurses working there write areportaboutprisonershospitalisedinKabgayi In agreementwithheadquarters,theteamdecidedto of showing up alive at theirtrial. situation. Thefirstrequirement is thattheyhaveachance against peopleandthatwetry,objectively,toimprovetheir allow usnottobecomplicitintheviolenceperpetrated But ontheconditionthatwebuildaframeworkwould have beenapriorityforMSF’sinterventioninsideRwanda. genocide woulddisappearfrommemory.Theprisonsshould there. Buttherewasalsoariskthatthetruthaboutthis danger ofdyingandtheinjusticewascertainly ryone willbedeadbeforetheygettotrial.Peoplewerein the process.Ifmortalityratesstaywheretheyare,eve- General conditions: problemsofpoortreatment are more 2/10,000/day.) of youngmen(criticalthreshold inarefugeecampis extremely highforapopulation composedessentially rate worksoutto10.8/10,000 personsperday.Thisis average prisonpopulationof 2,500,thedailymortality hospital. Thisbringstheaverage to2.7/day.Withan December intheprison;anadditional47Kabgayi Gitarama, 197deathsbetween1Novemberand31 Mortality: no exact numbers for Butare or Kigali. In Extract: because she thought could dosomething. stopped. Theadvocacymadeitpossibleforhertokeepat if wehadn’tbeendoingadvocacywork,shewouldhave vicious circle.”Shekeptonworkingbuttoldmelaterthat will happenandinamonthI’llseethemagain.It’s these people?They’regoingbacktoprison,thesamething don’t understandwhatI’mdoingthere.WhyamItreating Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(inFrench). […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in trial, yousaytoyourselfthatit’snotworthstarting late thetimerequiredtobringallthosepeople The mortality rates are horrifying. When you calcu- February 1995 (in French). advisor, 7 February1995(inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanagerandlegal Sitrep fromtheMSFFrancecoordinatorin Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF legal adviser (in French). ling them.” environment thatwillonlymakethemsickandendupkil - tality rates.Afterwetreatthem,sendthembackintoan are thepatientswe’reseeingandhereprison’smor - “Here arethefigures,hereprisonconditions, because theykeptaregisterofdeaths.Wesimplyexplained, their rottenfeet.Weknewthemortalityratesinprison of rain.Thisexplainsthediseaseswehadtotreataswell They wereallinthecourtyardandlackedprotectioncase prisoners thattheycouldnotallsitdownatthesametime. or threeprisonerspersquarefoot.”Thereweresomany translates toonelatrineperxnumberofprisonersandtwo for hundredsofpeopleandhousesseveralthousand,which this manysquarefeetandtherearesixlatrines.Itwasbuilt built insuch-and-suchyearforthismanyprisoners.Ithas mation required to be able to say, “The Gitarama prison was tion of names. registrations, falsenamesandmistakesinthetranscrip- rances.’ Thediscrepancycouldbeexplainedbydouble not concludethatthe10percentrepresented‘disappea- and the committee’s own lists. However, ICRC said it could rence between an exhaustive census of 20,000 prisoners transfer. AccordingtoICRC,therewasa10percentdiffe- the greatestriskofdisappearancesoccursduringprisoner centres (cachots)thaninMinistryofJusticeprisons.Also, common in‘upstream’localholdingcellsanddetention the number of deathsinthe prison (source:ICRC). content/message 3)theuseofnon-MSFdata;forexample, I needyouropinionon:1)thetoneofreport2)its lethality by disease, etc.) aswell as Februarydata. prisoners (percentofadmissionsbydisease,percent also goingtopickupmoremedicaldataonhospitalised food, water,hygiene/latrinesandavailablespace.Iam to tryobtainfirst-handstatistics/data on population, I amgoingtovisitGitaramaprisontomorrowwithArnaud Attached please find afirst draft ofthe prison report. Extract: Rwanda, from August 1994toMarch 1995 (inFrench). look atthestatistics,etc.,sowehadallinfor- sons. Wehadaccesstotheofficialonesandcould The governmentwas letting everyonevisit the pri- 28 1995(inFrench). Rwanda totheprogrammemanager,28February Sitrep fromtheMSFFrancecoordinatorin Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator in

59 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

We couldn’t save prisoners because the prison sent Minutes of the meeting between the MSF them to the hospital when they were at the point of Belgium and France Rwanda programme mana- death. That way, they could reduce the mortality gers on the prison issue, 5 March 1995, written rate in prison … and increase it in the hospital’s. Arnaud, by Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator the MSF doctor, said, “It would be worth it if we could be (in French). proactive.” So we set up a project to evaluate mortality, count prisoners, create dossiers, etc. We could also deter- Extract: mine whether our activities reduced mortality or if we ought MSF Belgium position: to give up because we weren’t making a difference. Above - in strictly medical terms, ICRC is doing a poor job (to all, that project gave us access to a strategic and key statis- put it mildly…) tic: mortality inside prisons. That put us in a position of - ICRC has pulled out all stops since sensing a threat from strength — we could criticise the incarceration policy if we MSF Belgium (comment: it’s true and it’s positive). ICRC could prove that with those rates, no one would live long is doing everything it can to prevent MSF Belgium from enough to go to trial. ICRC was working in prisons under working in the prisons confidentiality rules that covered mortality rates, so they - MSF Belgium recognises that it must not ‘impair’ the could not speak out. But we at MSF thought this informa- ICRC or weaken its protection mandate. MSF Belgium does tion could have a significant humanitarian impact on the not want to work in the prisons “at any cost” but thinks prison population so we worked on the project. We showed it can do better, medically speaking, than ICRC without mortality rates in the prison over six months. We concluded threatening them by distinguishing MSF’s long-term pers- that certain improvements were necessary if people were to pective — “the organisation of the prison health system” survive. — from the ICRC’s. - MSF Belgium chose not to confront ICRC directly but Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF legal adviser instead to “infiltrate” the prisons by working quietly, pro- (in French). fessionally and non-interventionally in the area of prison- hospital referrals and the organisation of clinic treatment. That leaves the entire ‘detention’ role to ICRC. The goal of this incremental approach is to gain the confidence of and credibility with prison officials and ICRC (not to be A cooperative effort was set up among ICRC, MSF perceived as a threat). France and MSF Belgium teams. Without setting up real programs, the latter two groups became involved, discreetly, inside the prisons.

Despite some hesitation, MSF Belgium agreed to develop a dossier on prisoners’ health status and, possibly, to distribute it. Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier ‘Rwanda Mission, 30 January – 7 February 1995,‘ report, 7 February 1995 (in French).

Extract: Minutes of the meeting between the MSF HEALTH AND DETENTION Belgium and France Rwanda programme mana- Health issues in Rwanda directly affect MSF. We are the gers on the prison issue, 5 March 1995, written primary medical agency there. However, addressing health by Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator needs in prisons poses many problems. We must not wea- (in French). ken ICRC’s protection role in prisons by offering a program of separate assistance. ICRC has access to all Ministry of Extract: Justice detention facilities and can, in principle, gain - MSF Belgium criticised Françoise Saulnier (MSF legal access to military detention sites. It registers prisoners, adviser) for coming to Rwanda and creating a prison distributes family messages, and given the system’s eco- dossier without consulting directly with MSF Belgium in nomic decline, carries out various assistance measures. Kigali, which had already launched a prison program. It has limited room to manoeuvre in terms of negotiation, however, because it is committed to keeping the informa- - MSF Belgium was distrustful of MSF France’s intentions tion it gathers confidential. In this instance, the mortality and, specifically, those of Ms. Saulnier and Paris: advoca- rates ICRC records are transmitted only to the government. ting on a subject about which MSF France lacks first-hand MSF can supplement ICRC’s activities by getting certain knowledge, and an overall strategy or specific objectives information out. simply to ease its own conscience--and with the poten- 60 tial to destroy MSF Belgium’s project in the prisons. MSF on ouranalysis. in aweekifwedecidetotakecommonapproachbased to besurewewon’tholdanunauthorisedpressconference strategy andwouldliketoreacha“protocolagreement” of thesituation).Theydon’ttrustourcommunications different representatives(lobbyingbasedonouranalysis later) Theywanttotargetresponsibilitiesandrequests representatives andindividuallobbying,possiblepublicity tone andgradualapproachproposed(distributionfirstto be closedto them asaresult. They are reassured by the with usbutfirstwanttobesurethattheprisonwillnot diagnosis oftheproblemandarenotopposedtoworking Conclusion: MSFBelgiumwillreadmydraft.Theyshareour tifies their activities, independent ofICRC’s. of itsactivities.Theyfeelthepossibilityadvocacyjus- working intheprisonandobserving,firsthand,limits the prisonsituationbeforegainingconcreteexperience - Regardingadvocacy,MSFBelgiumwouldnotdenounce MSF Belgium position: back onan even keelin the prison. Gitarama withoutgivingMSFBelgiumtimetogetthings desk officer].NowMSFFrancewantstoraiseafussabout but Parisrejectedtheproposal(JHB)[Jean-HervéBradol, Belgium hadproposedthatweworkintheGitaramaprison should have been noted. activity (limited)intheKigali andGitaramaprisons,that activities insidetheprisons; givenMSFB’saccessandits liked morethoroughcoverage ofMSFInternational’s • ConcerningNicolas’text specifically, wewouldhave situation in Rwanda. moration ofthegenocidewithcurrenthumanrights genocide. MSF B does not want to conflate the comme- by atleast10daysbefore the commemoration of the such apressreleaseforearlynextweekand,inanyevent, slowness ofthelegalsystem.Wewouldliketodevelop tion ontheprisonproblemandcurrent(intentional) • MSFBelgiumthinksshouldalsotakeapublicposi - a report. cabinet isconsiderablylesssoandmayevenscreensuch the “reliable”peopleincurrentgovernment,buthis to J.Matata,itappearsthatKagamemaystillbeoneof report shouldbedeliveredbyhandtoKagame;according relevant authorities and diplomatic entities; we think this • OKinprincipleregardingMSFsubmittingareportto Extract: ger, 13March 1995 (inFrench). manager totheMSFFranceprogrammemana- Fax from the MSF Belgium Rwanda programme resume lobbying. very eager. That draggedonforalongtime before wecould more andnowit’sworking.”Wesensedthattheyweren’t advocacy do for us? We did our job by pushing ICRC to do Barbara, theMSFBelgiumcoordinator,asked,“Whatwill issue. We’lldoadvocacyontheprisoners’stateofhealth.” over thedossierandsaid,“OK,we’llkeeponworkingthis Nicolas DeTorrenteasMSFFranceheadofmission.Itook because there were problems. I had just arrived to replace they oughttoprovideadditionalmedicalcareintheprisons attacked ICRConthesubjectofKigaliprison,saying sions about it. witnessed aneventorasituation.Iknowtherewerediscus- nable toaddinformationbasedonhearsay,withouthaving hand observations. On theotherhand,Ifounditquestio- hospital sinceMSFwasonsiteandwehaddatafirst- right to talk about the situation of prisoners in the Butare ted towhatweourselvesdocumented.Ifelthadevery base the entire advocacy effort on data only indirectly rela- that weshouldtalkaboutwhathadseen.Wenot know more…MypointindiscussionswithMSFFrancewas ‘Diagnosing the StateofPrisonerHealth: TheGitarama In early April 1995, MSF transmitted a report titled, statement actively, but we agreed. tion andweagreed.Idon’tthinkthesectionstookup the end,MSFFrancespokeout—justifiably--onsitua - plenty of statements prepared on the prison situation. In they wouldsendbacktoprison.So—fortunately--theyhad Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(inFrench). in Rwanda, September 1994toMarch 1995 (inFrench). […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in raised theissueatoutset.MSFBelgiumhad prison dossier.Howevertheyweretheoneswho The MSF Belgium team was not very happy about the suspicious about how it would be used. I wanted to idea wastousetheinformation.Personally,I I knewthatdatagatheringwasunderwayandthe prisoners theytreatedinthehospitalandwhom not workingintheprisons,workedfull-timewith MSF Francealreadyhadvolunteerswho,although Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator Dr. […], MSF Belgiumprogramme manager, then director of operations(in French).

61 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Example’ (Médecins sans Frontières in Rwanda, March - The continuing high numbers of arrests; and, 1995), to the Rwanda ministries of justice and rehabi- - the Rwandan legal system’s current state of paralysis. litation, and to the staff of Paul Kagame, the regime’s MSF is concerned about the current situation. Even as the ‘strong man.’ The report showed that all the diseases prison population continues to grow, the legal and judicial inmates suffered resulted from prison crowding. It was system for handling arrests, imprisonment, criminal charges not made public, but on the anniversary of the geno- and trial has been only partially reestablished. cide, MSF officials gave interviews to the international The legal system is not capable of dealing with this growth press on the changing situation in Rwanda. Prisoner in prison population. No one in a Rwanda prison charged health status was raised. with participating in the genocide has yet been brought to trial. The legal system, such as it is, faces serious obstacles. The international tribunal’s delay is particularly troubling, as is the fact that many of those responsible for the genocide are outside the country. ‘Diagnosing the State of Prisoner Health: The It is thus difficult to imagine the return of large numbers Gitarama Example’, Médecins sans Frontières in of refugees, with due regard for the legal system’s require- Rwanda, report, March 1995 (in French). ments, under current conditions. Given the current pace and nature of arrests, unless the Extract: entire Rwandan legal system is restored, increasing the This assessment is based on Médecins San Frontières’ country’s prison capacity will only defer the problem. Gitarama experience. Its goal is to report MSF’s findings Continued prison population growth will quickly raise the regarding medical care and the overall health status of crowding issue again, with all its attendant negative health prisoners in Rwanda and to develop recommendations for impacts on prisoners. improving a situation that can only be described as critical. Why is MSF, a medical and humanitarian organization, calling attention to this issue? -As an active supporter of reference hospitals--specifically the Kabgayi hospital in Gitarama–MSF is a stakeholder in Fax from MSF Holland coordinator to the pro- the prison medical system. gramme manager, 6 April 1995 (in English). - Mortality rates remain very high among prisoners. From a medical perspective, this group within Rwandan society Extract: remains extremely vulnerable. Françoise Saulnier arrived and yesterday evening we had a - Despite the very important activities of health care meeting here in the office about what had to be declared, workers inside the prisons (health ministry and ICRC) and together with Samantha Bolton and Gerda… We all agreed MSF’s efforts among reference hospitals, we are quickly that she will try to get the appointment with Kagame and approaching the limits of medical action. Under current that she will deposit the dossier at his cabinet. In the conditions of confinement, the remaining medical care meantime, she is being questioned by journalists on the improvements will have only a marginal impact on reducing prison system. MSF Belgium is getting nervous, as they mortality rates. are afraid her declarations will cost them their program - Improving prisoner health care is in the interest of brin- afterwards. This afternoon we will have a meeting with ging justice to victims and survivors of the genocide. This her again to make sure that she only speaks about the must begin with clear and concerted efforts to address the medical contents of the prison problem and that she does immediate cause of the problem: extreme prison overpo- not deviate to the judicial system too much. pulation. - Beyond these first measures, the restoration of the entire Rwandan judicial system requires immediate attention. Conclusions: A humanitarian and medical organization like MSF does ‘Rwanda jails: No Space, no Food, no Justice’, not typically venture into issues of incarceration and the The New York Times (France), 15 April 1995 (in judicial system, nor make concrete recommendations on English). such matters. But when medical efforts cannot save lives, MSF must do more. Extract: We observe that current prison mortality rates are closely The prisoners cannot sit or lie down because there is no linked to prison and jail overpopulation. Improving medical room. So they stand, four to a square yard, in the muddy services within these facilities is a necessary but insuffi- central courtyard. It takes hours to reach the latrines, or cient strategy for achieving the goal of acceptable prisoner the cooking fires where they eat. There is no protection survival rates. against the daily downpours, and many of the prisoners’ The Rwandan government and the international community bare feet are rotting from gangrene. Every day 5 to 10 die must thus treat the struggle against overcrowding as urgent. and many more are taken to a local hospital with pneu- To be effective, any effort must take the following two monia and dysentery. 62 issues into consideration: The prison in Gitarama, southwest of Kigali, was built to I personally can’t come to termswith that.” Borders. “AlotofpeopleI’mdealingwitharemurderers. “There is a paradox”,said Dr Davis, of Doctors Without the thoughtthatmanywereinvolvedinviciousmassacres. nate betweensympathyfortheinmatesanddisquietat patients atthenearbyhospitalinKabgayisaytheyalter- Thewesternreliefworkerstreatingabout120prison animals”… Doctors withoutBorders.“Theyarebeingtreatedlike “It ishorrific”,saidDrAlisonDavis,ofthereliefagency members or hope. into 11mainprisonswithoutaccesstolawyers,family be determined,morethan32,000Rwandans are packed to growingchargesofabusinghumanrights.Asfarascan week, andnoonecomestotrial,theGovernmentisopen unchecked militarycartssome2,000peopletojaileach victory ofaTutsi-ledrebelmovementlastsummer.Asan facing the Government, which came to power after the But prisonslikeGitaramaunderscorethemoralcrisis not beenrestored. like electricity,running water andcommunications have there isstillnoworkingjudicialsystem,andbasicservices inmates. Morethanayearafterthemassacresbegan, the institutionsnormoneytodealwithsomany Government officialsemphasisethatRwandahasneither most of them minority Tutsi. soldiers and mobs killed an estimated 500,000 Rwandans, involvement inmassacreslastyearwhichHutumilitias, arrive eachday.Prisonofficialssaymostarechargedwith hold 500inmates.Itnowholds7,000anddozensmore for each prisoner. going toworkintheprisons inordertocreatelegalfiles also 150judicialpoliceofficers trainedbyRCNwhoare guilty ofpettycrimes(50% oftheprisoners).Thereare the governmentcouldbetojudgeamaximumofpeople the prisonofGitaramatoanotherone.Thestrategy Recently theauthoritiestransferred2,000prisonersfrom updated report” will bepresented via apress conference. If wedonotseeameliorationinonemonth,the“MSF with a presentation letter and not via a press conference. The “MSF updated report” will be sent to the press mail reports havealreadybeenpresentedbyotheragencies. report tothepublicatthisstagebecausethesetypesof a largerpublic.Itisnotnecessarytopresenttheactual an updateeverythreeweeksandthentopresentit Rehabilitation butnotyettoKagame.Weplanmake The reporthasbeengiventotheMinistryofHealthand 4.2. Situation in theprisons Rwanda Extract: 1995 (inEnglish). ting onRwandaandBurundi,Brussels,11April Minutes oftheinternationaloperationsmee- We did not make it public. We alsosentittoseveralembassiesbutnotjournalists. Rwandan administrationwasthefirsttoreceivereport. Rwandan government was about totake action. sons returning to their villages. He mentioned that the who sharedhisconcernover thefateofdisplacedper- met severaltimeswiththeUNhumanrightsobserver During the same period, the MSF France coordinator through them. it isUNHCR’smandateandthatMSFshouldtrywork is morediscouragingthanencouraging.Theyfeelthat little information they have on the situation in Rwanda MSF F does not feel it can promote repatriation, as the - They do notfeelit is theirrole. enough; - TheydonotfeelthesituationinRwandaisstable MSF CH does nottryto actively promote repatriation as: fect, it is safefor the refugeesto return toRwanda. MSFSPfeelsthat,althoughtheconditionsarenotper- who to return toRwanda. They areparticipatinginthemedicalassistanceforthose torn anddeserted. The refugeeshavetheimpressionthatcountryiswar the situationthereistotallymanipulatedanddistorted. as itfeelsthattheinformationrefugeeshaveon rian situationinRwanda(e.g.whathospitalsareopen) MSF Bisactivelyprovidinginformationonthehumanita- Repatriation Extract: displaced persons to their homecommunes. positions ontherepatriationofRwandanrefugeesand On March 9, MSF’s sections in Rwanda debated their numbers ofprisoners.Wehadmedicaldata.The were workinginaRwandanhospital,treatinghuge The firstreportwaspreparedinMarchorApril.We English). ting onRwandaandBurundi,9March1995(in Minutes oftheinternationaloperationsmee- Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF Franceprogramme manager (in French)

63 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

on a hillside, the Kibeho hospital was in the centre of the camp, where some 100,000 displaced persons lived in huts Rwandan authorities had decided to close the camp. made of wood and plastic sheeting. Beginning the first Marc, the UN human rights observer I knew, was week of April that number increased as other IDPs arrived. working on this and wanted to have the census data The government’s camp closure program began and the for all the camp residents. He wanted to know where they total rose to around 130,000 people. came from and to go to neighbouring communities to assess their fate on their return. I told him, “I would like to give it to you but you need to place more observers in the camp. The situation there is troubling.” We met several times. He was worried and said, “The government is going to take a MSF France staff and Rwandan employees, who included hard-line position very soon.” He knew a month ahead of displaced persons, were responsible for health care in time what was going to happen. He was in a hurry to find the camp. Caritas and CARE Australia provided medi- out what was going on in the communes. I didn’t have time cines. to give him the census.

[…], MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 (in French). Malnutrition rates were very low and the health situation was excellent. Mortality rates were very low. We worked at the hospital with a group of highly competent Rwandans. In two or three months, they We were asked to take part in a PR campaign to were capable of taking over patient care. I supervised and encourage people to return to their prefecture of visited as if I were a head of service. I saw two or three origin, where they risked being killed. In the end, we patients alone to confirm how the staff was handling said, “No, we’re not going to do it. We won’t act on this. As things, but overall they ran the departments. We were three long as people are in Gikongoro, we will provide them health international volunteers-- two nurses and me. We didn’t services. The day they leave, we’ll stop. But we won’t stop have a logistician any more. Things were really working very providing health care services to force them to leave.” In well. practice, the RPA wanted to cut off food distribution and all services in the camps so that people would have to leave. The population of the town was 120,000 with the addi- We said no. So they forced CARE to cut off food distribution. tional numbers of the refugees in the hills. At night, the People protested, saying they were being starved. temperature was 10 degrees centigrade. As a result, the hospital’s 120 beds were always full. We had a home visit Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme system throughout the camp. We vaccinated continuously. manager (in French) If diarrhoea spiked even slightly — increased by 10 cases per week--we were there. We had time to work on things in-depth. There was genuine supervision. But there was no question of leaving — otherwise there would be no more medicine, no more supervision and no more staff salaries. During first week of April, the RPA expelled the dis- We were the hospital management. Caritas did small things placed persons from the small camps in the Gikongoro and a CARE Australia logistician distributed medicine to the region to force them to return to their villages. The small clinics. For the last three or four months, the needs IDPs went to the main Kibeho camp, where the popula- were in paediatrics and medicine. The paediatric department tion soon reached 130,000. The MSF France team lived was full. an hour away in the city of Gikongoro and went to the Kibeho site hospital every day to work. Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 (in French).

Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ April 1995 (in French). The atmosphere in the camp was calm since December, when the RPA and UNAMIR-led operation expelled the Extract: violent leaders who had held sway there. The MSF team Our house was in the town of Gikongoro and Kibeho was volunteers found no presence of armed men among the 37 km from there. One-third of the road is paved and the displaced persons. rest is dirt. When everything was going right, it would 64 take a little more than an hour to reach the camp. Located where theRPA was. TheyescapedtoZaire.In thesecamps, former regime did notstayinthecampsaround Gikongoro, of politicaldirectives.Butoverall, thekeyleadersof between Bukavu and the camps and tried to give some kind mini-mafias operating.Weknew aboutthepeoplewhowent us whoworkedinthecampcertainly knewthattherewere tasks andafewoldtraditional huntingweapons.Thoseof My impression is that themost dangerous men hadleft.” knew, butIneversawtheviolentandracistleadersagain. of theevents,Isawcampleaderandotherpeople army andtheTutsi.Theyusedracistlanguage.Attime were reallyvicious.Theyveryaggressivetowardsthe attended theleaders’meetingsonceortwice.Theseguys armed meninthecamp.Atbeginningofmystay,I vation spot.ButIcan’tsaywhetherthereweremilitiasor even foryou.” In thecamp,hospital was agoodobser- there arearmedmeninsidethecampandit’sdangerous, being held.Thesoldierssaid,“Youareontheirside.But never able to enter the barracks where the prisoners were delegates wantedtoknowwhatwasgoingon.Buttheywere prison. They were interrogating men there and the ICRC camp, therewasastationhousethathadbecomekindof that theRPAwasarrestingmen.Onothersideof came toinspectthecamps.Theybecausewe’dnoticed of responding.Duringtheweekpriortoevents,ICRC to families. Kibeho, ICRChandleddistributionwithfoodgoingdirectly redistributed it.Soobviouslylotsoftheaidwasdiverted.In lage leaderandhewastheonewhoreceivedfood Goma camps,peopleweregroupedwiththeirdistrictorvil- Goma andKibeho and theydidn’tworkthesameway. In the around earlyinthemorning.Isawfooddistributions you didn’tseehundredsofbare-chestedguyshanging Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994to May 1995 Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 a fewmachetes that people needed for everyday times looking for weapons. All they ever found were The RPAandUNAMIRsearchedthecampseveral didn’t knowaboutthemeither.Theywereincapable men inthecrowd.Weneversawanyourselves.ICRC The Rwandansoldierstoldusthattherewerearmed nothing major.Itwasn’tlikeGoma.Forexample, camp. Fromtimetotime,therewerethefts,but There were not a lot of security problems in the Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). (in French). be killed when they got there - that’sit. to gohome,itwasbecausetheywereafraidthatwould and Goma!Iwenttobothofthem.Ifpeopledidnotwant were harmed.Butyoucan’tcomparethesecampstoBukavu — afewcowswerestolenandsometimes Tutsi families kill them.Andthenabuseswerecommittedfromthecamps Isolated ontheirhill,theywereafraidthattheRPAwould preferred to comeliveinthecampsforsecurityreasons. lots of people living in the neighbouring hills. But they study thestructureofthesecamps,youseethattherewere terrorised. Andthat’swhytheystayedtogether.Whenyou political leaders.Theyweretryingtosurvive. there. Andmostimportantly,peoplehadenoughof of controllingeverything because the RPAand UNAMIR were some elementpowerandinfluence.Buttherewasnochance there wereonlyafewinfiltratorswhotriedtokeepholdof situation remained calm until the following Thursday. the hospital.Anunusualsilence reignedthere,butthe On Saturday8April,theMSF teamreturnedtoworkin won’t be working thatday. us, “Youmaynotseeusagain.”Forsecurityreasons,we and explosive.Beforeleaving,severalstaffpeoplesaidto to reassurepeople,theatmosphereremainedverytense refuge inKibeho.AlthoughUNAMIR’spresenceappeared dreds ofIDPsontheroad,fleeingothercampstotake culated and people were afraid. For two days we saw hun- an attractivetargetforadayofvengeance.Rumourscir- fine, buttheIDPsinarea, including Kibeho,formed day ofcommemorativeceremonieswouldbeheld—that’s What wouldhappen?Thegovernmentannouncedthata Thursday, 6April—theeveofdaycommemoration. Extract: displaced persons feared acts ofvengeance. a largemassacretookplaceduringthegenocide, did notworkinthecampsthatday.InKibeho,where of thegenocide.Forsecurityreasons,MSFteam ment chosetoholdceremoniesmarkingthebeginning The 7April1995wasthedateRwandangovern- April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF Franceprogramme manager (in French)

65 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Terms of reference… Objectives of the mission Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the To gather detailed information on: 1. Repatriation… 2. Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ The Rwandan judicial system/International tribunal… 3. April 1995 (in French). The human rights situation

Extract: Saturday 8 April: Return to the hospital. The apparent calm was misleading. Small groups of staff talked among themselves in low voices. Work resumed its normal rhythm On Thursday, 13 April, the MSF team discovered that but things were oddly quiet. J, the staff supervisor, asked the Rwamiko site, several kilometres from Kibeho, had me if it would be possible to pay the workers on Saturday, been destroyed. The camp’s 5,000 displaced persons the 15th, instead of as usual on the 18th. They would like headed to Kibeho. to have a little money for Easter. Sunday and Monday: rest days. Monday had been declared a holiday as part of the genocide commemoration. There were no unusual incidents until Thursday the 13th. Torrential rains tore up the road. In places it was nothing Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the more than ruts, sheets of ice, holes and muck. Until then, Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ it hadn’t been especially difficult to get to the camp. We April 1995 (in French). passed through the RPA checkpoints with no problem. Extract: As usual, we crossed through the small IDP camp (5,000 inhabitants) in Rwamiko commune, but today there was no longer anyone there. It had just been evacuated. On 11 April, the program managers from the different Household objects, bags of food, and personal items left MSF sections meeting in Brussels decided to create on the ground suggested the move had not been orderly the position of international information officer in and peaceful. Some shelters had been burned and were Rwanda. still smoking. Rwamiko is located a few kilometres from Kibeho. The people who fled to Kibeho explained that the night before, RPA soldiers had come to warm them that if they were still there in the morning, the soldiers would burn everything down. They also warned them that Fax from MSF Holland coordinator to the pro- if they went to Kibeho and were still there on Monday, gramme manager, 6 April 1995 (in English). there would be war. The same day, M. and B. two of our MSF colleagues invited us to visit the Munini dispensary Extract: and have lunch there. It is located 45 minutes by trail Advocacy strategy has been on the agenda of both the from Kibeho. We left the camp around 1 p.m., slightly desk meeting in Brussels as well as at a strategy meeting worried because of the rainstorm. During lunch, A, our here at the office. radio contact at the hospital, called us on the walkie- We would like to give you quick feedback on the main talkie. In a trembling voice, he told us that the RPA had conclusions: entered the hospital. Everyone was in a panic. People were 1. The TOR for the international post of Kigali has been frightened. We left immediately for Kibeho. By the time agreed by all desks. Agnes Wagenaar will arrive in Kigali we arrived, calm had been restored. The RPA had forced this Friday. She will work closely together with Eleanor in out the people who sought shelter in the hospital. Their Goma and the person in the proposed international post actions were always brutal — they would strike people in Burundi… with rifle butts and clubs. 2. All desks agreed that we should have an integrated advocacy strategy for the region. That is that we will collect information through Agnes, Eleanor, and the coordinators in Rwanda, Zaire and Tanzania with the purpose of writing a document, which will reflect MSF’s concerns in the On Friday 14 April, there was a stepped-up presence region. Publication of such a document is not excluded, of RPA soldiers in the camp. At MSF’s request, UNAMIR but timing, the sort of information we get etc. will be fac- soldiers were dispatched to protect the hospital’s tors in the decision about a possible publication… occupants. 3. Advocacy will be done as much as possible together with the other sections but should remain quick and effective. Public initiatives should be sent to the desks for consultation, but feedback needs to be given within 66 24 hours. camp. ordered anendtodeliveriesoffoodsupplies to the On 15April,theMSFteamlearnedthatRPAhad to setup surveillance. at nightandprotectthepeopleinhospital.Heagreed us. Daskedhimtodispatchseveralofhismenpatrol firmed thathewastheretoprotectthepopulationand goings. InresponsetoD’sconcern,thecommanderreaf- had changed.Thatexplainedallthesoldiers’comingsand official, commanderF,whoexplainedthattheRPAteam what wasgoingon,D,anMSFdoctor,contactedaUNAMIR that thenumberofsoldiershasincreased.Tofindout hospital. Thestaffisveryworried.There’snoquestion Friday 14th. RPA columns circulated all night around the Extract: also been attacked and emptied. hospital andschool.TheN’dagoMuninicampshad sons togatheronthehillaroundUNAMIRbuilding, destroyed thecampandforcedalldisplacedper - volunteers discoveredthatthearmyhadattackedand camp afterthelongEasterholidayweekend,MSF On Tuesday18April,returningfromworkintheKibeho The threat was obvious. not want to leave would be expelled by force if necessary. would havetoreturntheircommune.Thosewhodid thought thatifpeoplehadnothingmoretoeat,they the deliveryof food to force people to leave. RPA officials tive, whosuppliesthecamp’sfood,thathehadtostop Saturday 15th: We learned from PH, an ICRC representa- Extract: April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the Other camps: wounded. trampling and suffocation, and more than 100 people were chaos tenpeople(ninechildren andonewoman)diedof pulling awaytheplasticsheeting. Intheinitialpanicand military chasedthedisplaced outoftheirshelterswhile In Kibeho camp more than 100,000 IDPs were living. The emptied the camps ofKibeho, N’dago andMunini. UNAMIR, anestimated2,500RPAmilitaryenteredand ments made between the Rwandan government and In thenightof17-18April1995,contrarytoagree - Extract: around the UNAMIR andschool’s two encampments. people whohadbeeninthecampwerenowgrouped wooden bikes—thescenewashorrifying…The130,000 back towork,kidstearingdownthetrackontheirfunny its livelymarket,littleshopswherecraftsmenhadgone ning. Havingseenthesamecampdaybefore—with was no one there. The RPA had come very early in the mor- contents strewnontheground.Thecampwasdead.There domestic objects,sacksofcornhadbeenslashedandtheir ned. The ground was strewn with broken and abandoned empty. Thethousandsofsheltersweredestroyedandbur- We reachedthecamptodiscoveravisionofhell.Itwas we talked, negotiated and, finally, got through. king all access. We decided to go anyway. RPA checkpoint: able togetthere.Itlookedimpossible.TheRPAwasbloc- checkpoint beforethecamptofindoutifwewouldbe happening inthecamp.WestoppedatlastUNAMIR UNAMIR checkpointswithoutthemtellinguswhatwas worried andtense,sickwithfear.Wepassedthefirsttwo we gotthrough.Thenewsmadeusfeartheworst.Wewere were hospitalised. Panic reigned at the site. In the end, been fired around the hospital. The first gunshot victims in the mud. 09:30:Acalled us onthe radio. Shotshad were stoppedbyatruckblockingtheroad,boggeddown the logisticianandme.OnekilometrefromRwamiko,we The firstcarleftforthecampwithdriver,doctor, mander Fhadbeennotifiedandwouldbeatthehospital. not very clear. There were lots of RPA soldiers there, com- contacted A.tolearnmore.Thenewsaboutthecampwas at theKibehocamp.Wefearedworst.08:00were- tal. HeinformedusthattheRPAhadattackedtwosites made radiocontactwithA,whowasalwaysatthehospi- Tuesday 18th:asalways,at07:15,beforeleaving,we Extract: 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘Testimony Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the on theKibehoKilling,’

67 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On 17 April 1995 there were four big camps in Gikongoro nothing left to feed the staff, who were working day prefecture: Kibeho (100,000 people), N’dago (40,000), and night. Tomorrow there won’t be any milk left for the Munini (15,000) and Kaman (28,000). During the night children. of 17-18 April the RPA emptied three out of these four camps. In Munini some of the shelters were burnt down. After the nightly eviction from their shelters the displaced remained in the camps, grouped together. Only Kamana camp was still intact. When the MSF team reached Kibeho and discovered that the RPA had rounded up the displaced persons, the members contacted the head of mission in Kigali, who quickly alerted the press.

Our camp radio operator called us and said, “The soldiers have been in the camp since 4 a.m. They are driving everyone out of their huts and assembling them. They want everyone to leave. All these people were The only idea we had was this: We’ve got to treat the grouped at the top of a hill where there was a food distri- people who are there. We’ve got to be there so that bution area and permanent buildings. On one side were the some day we can be testify to this. My first argu- blue helmets, the hospital, the rest of the Caritas hospital, ment for staying was that we needed witnesses. Would MSF and large buildings in an interior courtyard. People were organise the testimony or set up a tribunal? I had no idea. grouped in this distribution area, surrounded by RPA troops. But we had to have witnesses. They were deporting some The area measured about the size of 1 1/2 soccer fields and people and killing others. We had to be there to be able to held more than 100,000 people. The soldiers told them, say, “It’s true that people were killed and others were depor- “You have to leave. We are stopping food distribution and ted and that no one knew what became of them.” there will be no more water.” People were standing packed together. They were not permitted to move from that spot. Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, (in French). Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 (in French).

With hindsight, I’m sorry we didn’t stay the night in the camp after they had gathered people. We could After negotiating with UNAMIR and the RPA, the MSF have treated people and had a better view of what volunteers obtained authorisation to work in the hos- happened. In fact, being on the outside, and with the extre- pital, where they treated people wounded during the mely strict security rules, we couldn’t see much. But on site, forced evacuation. I was the one there. I carried out the security rules in agreement with Kigali. No one said, “I would like to stay the night”. But later I said to myself, in terms of advocacy, we could have been much stronger if we had stayed the night to treat people. I felt like I was abandoning people Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the every night. Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ April 1995 (in French). Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994 to May 1995 Extract: (in French). Before entering the hospital, a blue helmet showed us the bodies of the 10 people who died during the hospital evacuation. There were eight children, a women and an infant — they’d all been suffocated and trampled to death. Our throats tight, we went to the hospital. More On Wednesday 19 April, the RPA deployed 2,500 men and more wounded people were arriving. Wounded by bul- in the camp. They shot at the crowd that had sought lets, their legs were torn by the barbed wire surrounding refuge between the hospital buildings. Thousands of the UNAMIR buildings where people tried to take refuge. people were reduced to living packed together, in the They had been struck with machetes… rain, without water, food or latrines. The RPA no longer The RPA surrounded the perimeter where people took authorised international organisations to distribute refuge. Those who left the area and tried to gather their food and cut off the water distribution system. MSF belongings from their shelter were beaten. We couldn’t and OXFAM logisticians negotiated intensely to obtain 68 supply the hospital with food any longer. There was authorisation to install a few water reservoirs. representative, RPA Captain Shema (the leader of the waiting forus, includingtheinteriorminister, aUNHCR interior ministernearthemarket… Severalpeoplewere volunteer asked me to go with him to meet with the that rushedinside…Ihadbarely arrivedwhentheOXFAM diatrics departmentwasalso almostcrushedbythecrowd had openedfireonthecrowd. TheMSFteaminthepae- the MSFhospital,provingthatatbeginning,RPA but laterweadmittedtwopeoplewithbulletwoundsto right!” TheRPAsoldierscontinuedshootingintotheair, all right! Calm down!” A man answered, “No, it’s not all calm thecrowd. I saidtothem, “Everything isall right, it’s stopped alittlewaybeforetheUNcheckpointtotry time. Thefiringstartedagain.Itwaseven heavier. We tection. Wehadtokeepfrombeingcrushedasecond they startedgettingupandrushingtowardsusforpro - out onthegroundandreachedfarendofarea, the Unicefvolunteer.Aswesteppedoverpeoplestretched After amoment’shesitation,Ifollowedhim,alongwith me, “Don’tworry!Getup,followme!EverythingisOK!” The firingwasgoingonwhenaUNsoldiercalledoutto on theVHF. I wasscared to death. ryone hittheground,includingus.Icalledmycolleague there wasnowayout.ThentheRPAfiredagainandeve- going tobecrushedandtrampledbythecrowdbecause ran ineverydirection.Atthatmoment,Ibelievedwas Suddenly Iheardshots.Thecrowdpanickedandpeople the RPAsoldiers’refusaltoletthemreachsource.) the KibehoandVirosites.Theotherswereprotesting water source,locatedatthebottomofvalley,between (The RPAhadletasmallgroupofpeoplegotonatural some IDPsontherightthrowingstonesatRPAsoldiers and whenwereachedthedistributionarea,Inoticed there wasaterriblefight.Wepassedthroughthecrowd hospital accompaniedbytwoUNsoldiers.That’swhen volunteer andfindoutwhatwasgoingon.Weleftthe Unicef volunteertotheUNcheckpointfindOXFAM He didn’t manage toseehim…Wedecidedgo with a in themorningtoconvincehimrestartsystem. volunteer wassupposedtomeettheRPAcommanderearly system and give people access to the water. An OXFAM everything wecouldtoobtainauthorisationrestartthe the Virosite.WithOXFAMandUnicef,wedecidedtodo dismantle partofthemotor-pump,whichwasinstalledat cut offthedistributionsystem.Whatthey’ddonewasto not beabletosurviveverylongwithoutit.TheRPAhad in with the mud. As for water, we knew people would to shitoneachother.Therewaseverywhere,mixed ting there.Peopleweresopackedtogetherthattheyhad the RPAhadsetupacordonpreventingthemfromget- People wereonlyashortdistancefromthelatrines,but the tragichealthsituationintermsofwaterandhygiene. This wastheday(Wednesday)thatIreallyunderstood Extract: French). the KibehoCampKillings,April18-231995,’(in Etienne Quetin(MSFFlogistician),‘Reporton held out their hands. The children would greet me, saying, “Komera.” People spontaneously takeituponhimselftoclearapathforme. courtyard severaltimesaday.Eachtime,someonewould by fear, exhaustion, hunger and thirst. I had to cross the ment litteringtheground.Mostpeoplewereoverwhelmed ned almostcontinuously and the water diluted the excre- the smokeintohospitalandwecouldn’tbreath.Itrai - smoke invadedthehospitalcourtyard.Thewindcarried little remainingfoodonimprovisedstoves.Athick,bitter a fewanimalsbeganbutcheringthem.Theycookedtheir up livingquartersthere.Thosewhohadmanagedtosave many burnedchildren…Thecrowdaroundthehospitalset new woundedpeoplearrivedatthehospital.Weadmitted episode ofpanicthatfollowedanarmedRPAintervention, We representedafaintrayofhopetothem…Aftereach help us.”Itwasawfultoleaveallthosepeoplebehind. tell themnottokillus,wewantgobackwithyou, Some peoplecalledouttous,“Tellthemletusleave, that, despitethesituation,madeanopeningforus. fired. Peoplepanickedandweevacuatedthroughacrowd get fromonebuildingtoanother.TheRPAenteredand but youhadtostepoverbodies,sacksandgarbage People didn’ttrytoenterthehospitalthatentireweek, hospital and came to take refuge between the buildings. Around 2pm,peopletoredownthefencesurrounding the camp and surroundingareas. learned fromUNAMIRthattheRPAdeployed2,500menin Increasing problemsgettingthroughRPAcheckpoints.We Radio contactwithA.Thenightinthehospitalwascalm. Extract: staff could continuetowork in thehospital. He agreed. distribute water to meet the hospital’s needs and if our working inthecamp.IaskedCaptainShemaifcould he didnotwanttoseeanyAfrican,otherthanUNworkers, local technicianstohelp.CaptainShemamadeclearthat pate intheoperationwhileministerhadauthorised15 contradicted him,refusingtoallowRwandanspartici- only enoughfordrinkingandnomore.CaptainShema water distributionsystemontheconditionthatitprovide with theminister,heagreedthatOXFAMcouldrestart and representativesofotherNGOs.Afteralongdiscussion operation), theMILOBS[militaryobservers]commander April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the

69 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On the morning of Thursday 20 April, the displaced persons were assembled in an even smaller area. Médecins Sans Frontières Kigali, ‘Report on Famished and exhausted, the members of MSF’s local Events in Kibeho Camps, April 1995’, 16 May medical staff in the Kibeho hospital, themselves dis- 1995 (in English). placed persons, feared that the RPA would enter the hospital. Extract: During the first days the RPA did not give permission to international organisations (Unicef, ICRC, Oxfam) to supply food and only limited amount of water was given. The first two days after the forced eviction from the Médecins Sans Frontières Kigali, ‘Report on shelters were very hot and without rain. In these days Events in Kibeho Camps, April 1995’, 16 May only 18,000 litres of water was supplied to the crowd of 1995 (in English). 100,000 people, whereas the minimum need in hot wea- ther is 5 litres per person per day. The MSF-hospital was Extract: inundated by displaced who were desperate for the little During the night or early morning of 19-20 April, the water that had remained in the hospital. crowd had apparently been driven together even more On the third day the displaced received a total of 150,000 tightly. The terrain next to the first UNAMIR compound litres – which most probably reached the population in an where on Wednesday many people had been standing, unequal manner, as many people stood too far away from was by Thursday morning just covered with belongings the water points. On the fourth day people told MSF that left behind. they no longer had access to water as the soldiers were beating them away from the water points.

Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ The international evening newspapers reported the April 1995 (in French). Rwandan army’s intervention at the Kibeho site. Extract: 07:15: Radio contact with A. The night was calm. People remained on the hospital grounds but stayed outside of the units. In the units, treatment was organised as well as ‘Rwandan Authorities Close Displaced Persons’ possible, which given the situation, was pretty good. The Camps in the South,’ Le Monde (France) 20 staff was desperate, hungry, sleepy and frightened. A, the April 1995 (in French). cook, asked me in tears if she could bring her children into the building. They were outside. Then J, the staff supervi- Extract: sor, asked if his wife and their children could take shelter Another UNAMIR official, who requested anonymity, said in the hospital. We were afraid the RPA would enter the that the operation represented “an effort at intimidation hospital with weapons to drive out anyone who was not a to force the displaced persons to return home against patient. Aside from the four medical assistants we brought their will.”… in every morning, the members of the medical staff were In late December 1994, Rwandan authorities had set a IDPs and their families were in the camp. From that deadline for the camps’ closure but at UNAMIR’s request, moment, one question would haunt us: What good was it had agreed not to issue ultimatums or to use force. The to treat and care for people who might be killed the next displaced persons still refuse to return to their villages day? Should we continue working under such conditions? out of fear of imprisonment or death. The Rwandan army continues to arrest around 1,500 people weekly. They will swell the already overpopulated prisons, which hold more than 33,000 people… Under the terms of the agreement, the camps’ “closure,” RPA soldiers prevented the displaced persons from organised by an “integrated operations centre,” was to reaching the water reservoirs that MSF and OXFAM had have begun last week, on 15 April. It was delayed until set up. after the week ending 14 April because of the period of mourning in Rwanda to honour the victims of the genocide.

70 awful living conditions were beaten as theyfled. The displacedpersonswho weretryingtofleethe that it would continue. say? Thatdayweweresurethatthekillinghadbegunand that theyworkedforMSF.Ifeltimpotent.Whatcould I pen andiftheycouldgetsomespecialprotection,given J, thestaffsupervisor,askedmewhatwasgoingtohap - people gooutside the hospitalcompound. minutes later, the blue helmets arrived and made all the mander onthewalkie-talkietocomeandintervene.Afew turned intoariot.Iwasafraid.calledtheUNAMIRcom- that theycouldhelpthemselves.Therewasarush enough waterforthemoment,Iexplainedtopeople catch thedrops.WhenIdeterminedthathospitalhad pipes leaked.Awomenslidhercontainerunderneathto thirsty, beggingmetoletthemtakewater.Oneofthe reached theircans out to me, signallingthattheywere chen’s andtheunits’waterreservoirs.Dozensofpeople guards, to movethe thirsty crowd aside and fill the kit- water. It took morethan an hour,andthehelp of two do somethingsothekitchenandhospitalcouldget over thesituation.TheycametogetmesothatIwould their containers.Thehospitalstaffnolongerhascontrol to waterisinsidethehospital.Peoplefloodinfill access tothereservoirsOXFAMinstalled.Theonly People have no more water. An RPA cordon is blocking Thursday 20th…Theatmosphereisincreasinglytense. Extract: and MSFwas increasingly fearful ofacholera epidemic. the crowd…Thehealthsituationworseneddramatically near thehospitalcistern to replacetheonedamagedby installed ahydrant-fountain(connectedtothenetwork) The RPAbeatpeopletodiscouragethem.OXFAMthen quickly realisedthatveryfewpeopleweregivenaccess. access. Theyagreed,butafterinstallingthesystemwe tains lowerdown,askingtheRPAifpeoplecouldhave We decidedtoinstallareservoirandtwohydrant-foun- Extract: April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the French). the KibehoCampKillings,April18-231995.’(in Etienne Quetin(MSFFlogistician),‘Reporton of thebuilding. tor notifiedtheteamthatheheardshootinginfront night guards.Around6p.m.,thehospitalradioopera- the hospital.AtMSF’srequest,UNAMIRagreedtopost left thecamp,some50additionalsoldiersheadedfor At theendofafternoon,whenMSFvolunteers deaths mounted and it ended in carnageon Saturday. Interahamwe andfiredintothecrowd!Littlebylittle, The soldierssuspectedthosewhoescapedofbeing to be extremely upset! Some tried to run off into the hills. your child living in such conditions, of course you’re going week without eating.They drank rainwater. When you see temporarily in the camps. asked thatthedisplacedpersonsbeallowedtoremain In apressreleasedistributedbyallthesections,MSF team that there were shots inthehospital square. who remained day and night in the hospital radioed the but didnotdoso.At18.00thelocalMSFradio-operator guard the hospital for the night. UNAMIR said they would, At 16.30MSFaskedUNAMIRiftheycouldputmento the work of theteam. been walkingin and out the hospitalandhadhampered the hospital.Alreadyduringdaymanysoldiershad saw agroupofatleast50RPAmilitaryheadingtowards team wasleavingthecamptogobacktheirhouse,they On Thursday20Aprilatabout16.30,justwhentheMSF- Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 rabbits… Peopleremainedoutsideintherainfora ded and tried to flee. They were clubbed like baby There was shooting every night. People were woun- 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French).

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minimum of food, water and shelter necessary for their survival” ‘Médecins Sans Frontières Requests That Displaced Persons’ Camps Be Maintained Temporarily,’ MSF Belgium, MSF France, MSF US, MSF International Press Release, 20 April 1995 (in French and English). Every morning, the MSF team wondered whether to go to Kibeho that day. They were finding it increasin- Extract: gly difficult to gain access to the displaced persons. MSF USA: Blockages at RPA checkpoints were increasing and Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors without Borders negotiations were becoming longer and more difficult. demands that the camps for displaced persons in Rwanda At the hospital, the RPA soldiers blocked the team be temporarily maintained. from working. Thursday, 20 April 1995 – Since the morning of 18 April, 2 500 soldiers from the RPA (Rwandan Patriotic Army) have been surrounding the camps for displaced persons in the Kibeho region of Rwanda (200,000 persons grouped in four principal camps) to force them to return to their Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the original homes. Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ The deployment of Rwandan military forces has caused April 1995 (in French). panic among the population, provoking the deaths of nine persons in Kibeho and the wounding of one hundred Extract: persons at Ndago. The populations have hastily left the Friday 21 April camps, and have taken refuge on the outskirts of the Every day, we ask ourselves again if we should go to UNAMIR (United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda) Kibeho. And every day we decide to go. But each person encampment. They have been without shelter for two is free to refuse if he or she is not comfortable. I decided days, and have not been allocated food or water in any to follow my mission through to the end — assuming that of the camps. I’m not putting my life in danger. Our duty is to assist this Since Tuesday, two camps (Ndago and Munini) have been population in distress and these people have the right to partially burned and the army seems determined to close humanitarian assistance. If we are refused access to the the last sites. The populations are afraid to return home hospital and prevented from working, we’re still there as because they have seen the failure of government repa- witnesses. triation effort Operation Return, now called Operation Reaching Kibeho was even more difficult than on the Homeward, which was put in place by UNREO (United other days. The RPA made us wait for authorisations at Nations Rwandan Emergency Operation). There has even the checkpoint, but they didn’t have them. We had to call been a movement in the past few weeks of repatriated the UNAMIR commander, and get the MILOBS (military persons back to the camps. observers) and the UNHCR official involved. Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders is outraged by the conditions in which these operations are taking place, and is deeply concerned about the fate of these populations. The displaced must be able to get food, water, and the necessary shelter to survive. As long as no Médecins Sans Frontières Kigali, ‘Report on satisfactory solution exists to assure the return and reins- Events in Kibeho Camps, April 1995’, 16 May tallation of these displaced persons, MSF demands that, 1995 (in English). for better or for worse, these camps must be maintained. Extract: MSF International From the moment of eviction, it was no longer possible for MSF calls for Rwandan displaced camps to be maintai- the displaced to have full access to MSF facilities or for ned… MSF to have full access to the people who needed medical Reintegration of the displaced into their communes of assistance. The mass concentration of displaced made this origin is proving so problematic that over the past month impossible. and a half MSF has seen a marked increase in the number Besides this, it became increasingly difficult for the MSF of arrivals in the internally displaced camps of southwest team to continue their work in the hospital as before. Rwanda. These include both people who had been repa- Every day they were stopped at RPA-checkpoints and had triated from the camps to their communes of origin and to negotiate their access over and over again, up to one then who fled again, as well as people who had never been hour sometimes. MSF was usually told that the reason to displaced before. be stopped was an order from a higher up person, who MSF coordinator in Rwanda, […] said: “Tonight will be happened to be absent at that moment. Also the MSF team the third night these people spend in the open air in had to wait considerable time for trucks manoeuvring on 72 terrible conditions. The displaced must have access to the the difficult dirt roads or blocking the Butare-road. the nearby population. a choleraepidemicamongthedisplacedpersonsand tried invaintonotifytheauthoritiesofthreat the previous day’s gunfire. Throughout the day, they found 21bodiesinatentnearthehospital,victimsof On themorningofFriday21April,MSFvolunteers any RPA responsible atButare or Kigalilevel. commanders inthecamp.Neitherwasitpossibletoreach However, onFridayitwasimpossibletofindanyRPA to comebackthenextdaydiscussmatteragain. to Butare.They did notgetarealanswer, just weretold ched theRPAaskingforpermissiontotransportpatients difficult totreatpatientsinKibehohospital,theyapproa- On Thursday,as MSF saw that it became increasingly them… negotiate alongtimewiththembeforetheyletusfeed malnourished childreninthepaediatricward.Wehadto get supplies.Theyevenforbidustogivemilkthe25 while wewerenotallowedbythemtogothestore were searchingthrougheverythingandeveryone.Fora and evictedrelativesaccompanyingthepatients.They all overthehospitalday.Theywentthrougheveryward According tooneMSF-nurse:“thereweresomanysoldiers who walkedinandouthamperedtheworkofMSF. to fetch water from the hospital, and by RPA-soldiers The hospitalitselfsoonwasinundatedbydisplacedtrying It wasnota pretty sight...TheMSFcamp coordinator the bodiesin morning.Iwenttolook at thecorpses. who weretryingtoflee.The UNworkershadbroughtin people. Duringthenight, RPAhadfiredonpeople suffocated. The hospital also admitted some 50 wounded machete woundsandtwo, including ababy,hadbeen morgue. Sixteenweregunshot victims,threediedof Friday, 21:Thismorningwediscovered21bodiesinthe Extract: many were injured. soldiers firednearthehospital.Some20peoplediedand an RPAcolumnhadenteredlastnightafterweleft.The Friday the21st,07:15,radiocontact.A.notifiedusthat Extract: French). the KibehoCampKillings,April18-231995.’(in Etienne Quetin(MSFFlogistician),‘Reporton April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the of aninfant, bringing thetotal number of victims to24. the UNbroughtusthreeadditionalbodies,includingone and Ilentthemshovels,hoeslime.Atthesametime, organised the grave digging (near the hospital). The team they didn’tdothejobquickly.WithcommanderFrancis,I threatened todeliverthecorpsesUNcompoundif sible (topushthemtoassumetheirresponsibilities).He asked theUNstafftoburybodiesassoonpos- displaced persons beallowedtoremain inthecamp, the situation wasdeterioratingandasked thatthe That sameday,MSFFrance notifiedthepressthat and accelerate the departure process. the solutionwouldbetoincreasenumberoftrucks refused the requestof the UN. Mr Khan then declared that Later thatdaytheMinistryofRehabilitationofficially UN Special Representative left again. After 15minutesinwhichnoRPA-officialshowedup,the water and food. groups, givingthemamedicalscreeningandsufficient still easily be prevented by dispersing people in smaller complete transferofallthedisplaced.Epidemicscould to reopenthefacilitiesincampwhilewaitingfor he triedtomeettheRPAcommanders,proposethem and after a short discussion with MSF-staff in the camp, during a meeting in Butare about the health hazards, morning byNGOs,UNandinternationalorganisations arrived byhelicopteratthecamp.Briefedalreadythat Secretary GeneraloftheUNinRwanda,Mr.ShahryarKhan At 12.00 on Friday the Special Representative for the camps in IOM-trucks or on foot. communes, aseverydaysomethousandsofpeopleleftthe affect thecamppopulation,butalsoneighbouring MSF wasconcernedthattheseepidemicswouldnotonly meetings. as all camp actors knew each other from regular security Before thecrisis,contactswereusuallyestablishedeasily, in thecamp,butnobodyseemedtoknowwherehewas. the daybefore,MSFtriedtocontactRPAcommander outbreaks ofdysenteryandcholera.Thiswasinvain,as agencies workingintheareaaboutimminentriskof MSF alertedUNAMIRandalltheUNinternational on Thursday afternoon and during thefollowing night. ting; decreasedimmunity;andontopofthatheavyrains ming foodandwaterinthesameplacetheywereexcre- there: theextremeconcentrationofpeople;peopleconsu- to thehospital.Allpreconditionsforcholerawere On Fridaymorningseveralcasesofdysenterywerebrought Extract: 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton

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where they could receive assistance while awaiting a political solution. Letter from Philippe Biberson, president of MSF France, to Martin Griffiths, director of the UN Department of Humanitarian Affaires, and Augustin Mahigao, coordinator of UNHCR’s spe- ‘Nearly 200,000 people gathered around dis- cial Rwanda unit in Geneva, 21 April 1995 (in placed persons’ camps in south-west Rwanda French). prepare to spend a fifth day in the open,” MSF France Press Release, 21 April 1995 (in Extract: French). We are writing today to notify you of our deep concern regarding the displaced persons in the camps in southwest Extract: Rwanda, in the Gikongoro region… We know there is no The situation is worsening for tens of thousands of people good solution to this problem right now. Preserving the still crowded near the camps in the Kibeho region. Water displaced persons’ camps is certainly not the answer, but supplies remain extremely limited. The displaced persons to us it represents the best compromise while awaiting gathered around the Kibeho camp are currently receiving a political solution allowing the population to return between one and two litres per person per day. At Ndago, under acceptable security conditions. The lack of refuge, they are receiving barely more than one litre. The lack of food and water is all the more unacceptable because the food is also becoming painfully apparent. While some of populations are close to their shelter, food supplies and them were able to carry a portion of their food rations water sources. with them, most left with nothing. A general food distri- We believe that everything must been done to assure bution has not yet taken place. Furthermore, hygiene faci- these populations access to basic assistance, without lities are lacking in the places where they are gathered. which many people will not have the means to guarantee The first cases of dysentery were recorded and miserable their immediate survival. health conditions could well lead to epidemics. This lack of shelter, food and water is all the more unacceptable because the displaced persons are close to shelter, their food supplies and water sources. Médecins sans Frontières is once again angered by the conditions Throughout the week, the Rwandan army took dis- under which the camps are being dismantled. Before the placed persons to their home communes without ade- situation worsens dramatically, the authorities must make quate security guarantees. sure that the displaced populations have access to their means of survival. Preserving the camps is certainly not a good solution, but it represents the only compromise acceptable today while awaiting a political solution allowing the populations to Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the return under acceptable security conditions. Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ Fifteen members of Médecins Sans Frontières are wor- April 1995 (in French). king in the Kibeho hospital. Between 36 and 40 people wounded during yesterday’s incident, which killed 22, Extract: are hospitalised there. Along with other organisations, Wednesday 19: Hundreds of people are waiting at the the team is also trying to supply water to the Munini and Kibeho departure point on the Butare road for the trucks Kibeho camps. that are supposed to transport them to their commune. Individuals were not registered by name. A UNHCR member only counted the numbers of people leaving.

The president of MSF France also sent a letter on this issue to the director of the UN Department of Médecins Sans Frontières Kigali, ‘Report on Humanitarian Affairs and the coordinator of UNHCR’s Events in Kibeho Camps, April 1995’, 16 May special Rwanda unit in Geneva. 1995 (in English). Extract: Meanwhile transport of the displaced to their home communes took place. International staff involved in this process in Kibeho camp informed MSF that on Wednesday 19 April some 1,000 displaced had been screened by the RPA and then transported in an orderly way from Kibeho camp to their home communes. On Thursday some 6,000- 74 7,000 people left and on Friday an estimated 2,000-3,000. for morethan an hour at anRPA checkpoint. went totheKibehocampbyconvoy.Theywereallheld representatives ofotherinternationalorganisations, throughout the movement, the MSF team, along with Reinforced byadozenadditionalvolunteersfrom conditions attheKibehodisplacedpersons’site. Thursday’s shootingandthedeteriorationofliving On Saturday22April,theinternationalpressreported abandonment. and Butare,indicatingarusheddepartureorforced 500 displacedwerefoundontheroadbetweenKibeho insufficient: onFridayafternoonthebelongingsofabout On Friday it became evident that protection was absolute go towhich communes. were seen,countinghowmanypeoplesupposedto Sometimes also one ortwo UN Human Rights Monitors the luggageofreturneesandtakingpeopleaside. the camp sometimes only the RPA was seen, controlling returnees. Howeveratthecheckpointonwayoutof tion processwassupposedtoguaranteethesafetyof The ampleinternationalpresenceduringthetransporta- ting hadstopped sowedecidedtocontinue tothecamp rantee oursafety underthoseconditions. Buttheshoo- They said it was too dangerous and they could not gua- In Rwamiko,theUNworkers advisedusagainstgoing. working and leave thehospital. to treatthewoundedbut RPAorderedthemtostop were many wounded. The AustralianUN medical team tried Around 30bodieslayinthehospitalcourtyardandthere the placetowarnus.Therehadbeenshootingallnight. the Kibehohospital.Hehadjustforcedopendoorof A UNHCRvolunteercalledusfromtheVHFbaseradioat officer. five nurses,fourlogisticiansandonecommunications MSF Belgiummadeup,ifI’mnotmistaken,offivedoctors, two fromMSFSpain,Hollandandone reach thecamp.Theteamincluded10fromMSFFrance, Our planwastogoRwamikoandthenseeifwecould SCF, Unicef and UNREO. convoy withfourMSFcarsandoneeachfromtheICRC, mattresses, lime,biscuits,milk,etc.Wedecidedtogoby (dressings, compresses, infusion kits, etc), jerry cans, worst. Weloadeduptwopickupswithmedicalsupplies our radiooperatordidnotrespondandwefearedthe we decidedtogoinforcethenextday.Thatmorning, Holland, MSFBelgium,Spain,Kigaliteam)and Friday nightreinforcementsarrivedfromallover(MSF Extract: (in French). on theKibehoCampKillings,April18-231995.’ Etienne Quetin(MSFFrancelogistician),‘Report V5 to evacuatethecamp with therestofOXFAM team. OXFAM womanwhohadjustgottentheorderfromherboss through. Intheend,theyletuspasswhenwemetan received anordertoallowonlyOXFAM,ICRCandUNREO up for1 too muchtrouble(GakomaandViro).Butwewereheld We managed to cross the first two RPA checkpoints without king area.The entire teamdecidedtogo,but Ihesitated. those whodid notwanttocomeshouldstay atthepar condition thattheUNescorted us.Didierproposedthat shooting… We decided to go to the hospital anyway, on not distinguishbetweenblack andwhitewhentheystarted the RPAsoldierswantedto empty it,themilitarywould that ifaninternationalended upinsidethehospitalwhen hospital. Theythreatenedthevolunteersbytellingthem RPA haddrivenalltheinternationalvolunteersoutof A MILOBScametomeetusexplainthesituation.The we could get tothewounded. to check out thesituationandtry to reachthe hospital so opened fire on thedisplaced persons. they positionedthemselvesinfrontofthehospitaland the churchtowardhospital.Whistlingandsinging, A groupofRPAsoldiersthencamedowntheroadfrom of deadandwoundedbeganorganisingtreatment. pital withaUNAMIRescort.There,theyfounddozens rear base,allthevolunteersdecidedtogohos- With theexceptionofalogisticianwhoremainedat could pass. in thehospitalandcamp,thatonlyOxfamICRC (both MSFandtheAustralianUNAMIRmedicals)towork security, butthattheRPAforbidsanymedicalpeople RPA, thatthemainreasonforstoppingthemwasnot shooting inthecamp.However,theyweretoldby just beforetheentranceofcamptheyheardregular stopped formorethananhouratthelastRPAcheckpoint situation hadsignificantlyworsened.Whiletheywere it hadalreadybecomecleartotheMSFteamthat At about10:30ontheirwayfromGikongorotothecamp, Extract: Extract: 1/2 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton (in French). on theKibehoCampKillings,April18-231995.’ Etienne Quetin(MSFFrancelogistician),‘Report hoursatthethirdbecausesoldiershad -

75 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

I thought for a moment and decided to stay. I called the After lying on the floor for an hour as firing continued MSF coordinator who had already reached the hospital to above them, the MSF volunteers were finally evacuated tell him. “I don’t feel like following you”. I said, “I’d rather by UN blue helmets to the Zambian UNAMIR battalion’s remain at the rear base to gather information and for secu- barracks. The RPA soldiers stormed the building. From rity reasons!” He answered, “No problem, that’s fine!”… there, they fired on the displaced persons, right in When I warned the MSF team that had entered the hospi- front of MSF volunteers and UN peacekeepers. tal about the RPA soldiers coming from the church whistling and singing, I heard firing from the school courtyard.

Etienne Quetin (MSF France logistician), ‘Report on the Kibeho Camp Killings, April 18-23 1995.’ ‘Statement of an MSF doctor and international (in French). volunteer,’ MSF Belgium doctor, member of the team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, Extract: 1995) (in French). Rain was beating down on the camp. The hospital team called me in a panic. “Etienne, we’re evacuating! Send UN Extract: soldiers to come for us! Our escort has disappeared! There’s As soon as I entered the building, I observed women, shooting everywhere!” I ran to the Zambian soldiers, yel- children and about 15 people with machete wounds. I had ling, “Get to the hospital right away! I have 14 friends seen other wounded people on the staircase leading to inside! Please, it’s an emergency! Find them and bring internal medicine as well as in this unit. I could not tell them back!” For five minutes I didn’t realise that there exactly how many there were. As I prepared to give first was shooting going on around me. I thought of my friends aid with the help of three international volunteer nurses, trapped there and I saw the Zambians who said, “We’ll go! firing broke out between the buildings. It was around We’re going now!” But I didn’t see them move an inch! I 12:15. In the meantime, it had begun to rain. In the went crazy!… The hospital team called to find out if the minutes that followed, the shooting intensified and drew soldiers were coming. After that I couldn’t reach them. I nearer. Panicked people were coming back into the units. waited several interminable minutes without knowing what As the tension heightened, we noticed that shots were was going on. Suddenly, I saw the team arrive at a run and coming from the other side of one of the two entry doors I rushed with them inside the UN building… (the wooden one). We evacuated to the UNAMIR camp. The shooting was still underway. I said to myself, “They (the RPA) have the nerve to finish off the IDPs even with plenty of us here to witness what’s happening. They don’t give a damn — they want to be done with them.”… The UN soldiers were running back and forth in and out of the We heard singing and then, suddenly, we heard building. As soon as the firing became sporadic, we went shots ring out. They were singing! They were sin- outside the UN buildings. I could see clearly as RPA sol- ging! Etienne, the logistician who had stayed near diers beat the IDPs who were trying to leave via the valley. the cars, saw a column of men coming from the military From time to time, I saw soldiers leading IDPs toward the camp. They had shoulder-held rocket launchers and were church but I didn’t know where they were taking them. singing as they headed to the hospital. He became frighte- I could see several bodies sprawled on the hill, beneath ned. The soldiers began firing. Some of the hospital buil- the market. dings were hard-sided and others were of plastic sheeting. From inside the hospital you couldn’t see the soldiers. But we heard them singing and then the firing started. They said that armed men were hiding in the school buildings. The hospital was behind, up against the base of the hill. The ‘Dozens die at camps in Rwanda - Refugees are soldiers shot from the hospital because there was a wall caught in gunfire and panic’, The New York with holes through which they could see into the large cour- Times (USA), 22 April 1995 (in English). tyard. They wanted to drive people toward the exit, but they did it with heavy weapons. We weren’t targeted directly. We Extract: didn’t understand what was going on. We were face down Dozens were killed and hundreds were wounded today on the hospital floor. We heard shooting. From the window, when Rwandan government forces opened fire on a I could see guys with weapons going by. I was afraid makeshift camp here where tens of thousands of eth- because they were completely high. They were singing--they nic Hutu have been moved in the past few days. It was were totally crazy, those Rwandans! unclear how the shooting began. But the gunfire quickly ignited panic in the hillside encampment in southwestern Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, Rwanda, which was packed with Hutu displaced by the Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994 to May 1995 civil war last year. Hutu militiamen also allegedly fired at 76 (in French). government forces and at United Nations forces. back into the courtyard. treated the wounded. The bluehelmetsthen sent them The MSFteamandtheAustralianUNAMIRmedical fired at themlike rabbits in afield. rywhere. Somepeoplewerestillrunningandthesoldiers went outside.Therewerebodiesandwoundedpeopleeve- diers werelikecrazymen.Aftertheshootingstopped,we We weren’tbeingnoble,wewerereallyfrightened.Thesol- room wherewewere.Welayontopofthemtohidethem. from ontopofthewall.TwoIDPsmanagedtogetinto left. They scaled the barracks walls and fired on the crowd people wecould not bringinside. to uswhenconfrontedwiththethousandsofwounded them, butourgoodintentionslookedsilly,evenpitiful, red upbetweentworoundsoffiring.Weofferedtohelp were treatingseveralwoundedpeoplewho’dbeengathe - In theUNAMIRencampment,Australianpeacekeepers Extract: with machete wounds. about 10peoplewoundedbybullets.Idon’trecallanyone radic eveninsidetheUNAMIR1camp,webegantreating carefully inalldirections.Whenthefiringbecamespo- Armed RPAsoldierskeptenteringthebuilding,looking Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 They came to see what we were doing and then they soldiers cameintotheUNpeacekeepers’barracks. We wereallcrammed into asingleroom.Rwandan around andbrought thembacktous.We tried — The bluehelmets wenttolookforthewounded all April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the 1995) (inFrench). team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, volunteer,’ MSFBelgiumdoctor,memberofthe ‘Statement ofanMSFdoctorandinternational Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). care for the woundedwhile the fusillade continued. they hadtocrossafieldofdeadbodies.Theytried fire. ToreachtheAustralianbluehelmets’barracks, repatriated to their communes and who were under RPA other sideofthesitetoaidIDPswaitingbe and underhisescort,fourMSFvolunteerswenttothe At therequestofZambianbattalion’scommander, made us sick. dages andinfusions.Theyhadbeenbeatenafterwards.It people wehadtreatedafterthefirstwave,withtheirban- They putthemaside,nearthecamp.Amongwesaw attack. Wesawthebluehelmetstransportingdeadbodies. ded--decided toleave…around1p.m.,therewasanother us. Otherrefugees—theoneswhoweren’ttoobadlywoun- We shouldleavethemoutside.couldn’tkeepwith straight outthatweshouldn’tkeep the woundedwithus. took off.AtonepointtheZambianbluehelmetstoldus crudely, theyfilleditupwiththewoundedandthen others andthentheyweremovedintoatruck.Toputit The AustralianUNAMIRbattalion’smedicalteamtreated I’m sayingwetried—tocareforthemabit.Some,notall. When wereached CampII,webegantreating thewoun- children. A dazedcrowd surrounded us. literally hadtowalkonthe corpses ofmen,womenand piled oneontopofanother, wecouldn’tavoidthem.We foot, carrying the supplies. There were so many bodies with bodiesandafewwounded people.Wecrossedon camp. The road was impassable because it was covered stop becauseathickcrowdlinedtheroadandcircled protruded fromplasticsheeting.NearCampII,wehadto road wasfreeofbodies.Hereandthere,unmovingfeet We wenttoCampIIbyvehicle.Forpartoftheway, camp because the roadwasstrewn with bodies. They saiditwouldbeimpossibletogetthesecond look overthewallalongwithtwoZambianbluehelmets. transport, Iwenttothelatrines,usingopportunity helmets, thereweremorewounded.)Whilewaitingforthe the second UNAMIR camp where, according to the blue the Caritassurgeon.(Myideahadbeentostayandgo that Iwouldgotherewithpartoftheteam,including ther toevacuateKibehoorcontinueourwork.Wedecided We spentsometimediscussing,amongotherthings,whe- Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994to May 1995 Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, 1995) (inFrench). team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, volunteer,’ MSFBelgiumdoctor,memberofthe ‘Statement ofanMSFdoctorandinternational (in French).

77 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

ded the blue helmets brought over. We treated a total of around 30 people, including some who had been wounded by weapons other than guns. Human rights workers and Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the ICRC, Unicef, Caritas and MSF staff was there. Throughout Kibeho team) ‘Testimony on the Kibeho Killing,’ the entire time I’ve described, we could hear sporadic fire April 1995 (in French). in single shots or short bursts. At one point, the firing intensified and the blue helmets stopped their stretcher- Extract: bearer work. Then the shooting became continuous and It was around 2:30 p.m. The sporadic firing resumed the crowd tried to force the blue helmets’ blockade. As and continued for several hours. We were sure we heard the firing reached its crescendo, it sounded like hail Kalashnikovs, machine gun and RPG fire. We were gathe- pounding on a tin roof. At that moment, the crowd surged red in a small room inside the UNAMIR buildings, pressed and babies were thrown over the blue helmets’ sandbags. close together. The things we heard were awful… Hundreds of people had taken refuge next to the encampment where we were. Suddenly, they panicked. I can’t say what provoked them, but they started moving. They entered the UNAMIR encampment and then the buildings. The Francis, the commander of the Zambian blue hel- RPA was pursuing them and began firing. The blue helmets mets, said to us, “You must come to the other bar- also took fright and entered the building to take shelter. racks because there’s been a carnage, there are When the shooting stopped, the blue helmets made those wounded people everywhere. You have to come…” We dis- who had entered leave the building. People were frighte- cussed it: “Do we split up? Do we stay? Do we go? In this ned and some remained. The blue helmets were brutal as situation, we really don’t have much to offer in the way of they shoved them out. The RPA was waiting outside the treatment.” There were lots of opinions. Some people buildings and attacked them violently. Through the win- wanted to leave and others wanted to stay. As the Kibeho dows, we saw the blows raining down. A little further off, supervisor, I made the decision. “We’re staying because an RPA soldier was beating an old man accused of having something is happening. Even if we don’t manage to treat a entered the UNAMIR building with a grenade. single patient, I think we should be here…otherwise…” I still had a certain hope of protecting them. Everyone said, “We’ll all stay because we’ll honour the majority decision.” We took the car and the supplies and we went… When we got within 30 metres of the buildings, bodies covered the There was a Rwandan with us who had managed to road, blocking the cars’ passage. They were piled two or get into the blue helmets’ camp. He was literally three high across the road. There was no other solution, so clinging to the cement! A Zambian blue helmet came we put the crates on our backs and walked across the bodies to get him, telling him he had to get out! It was awful, towards the barracks where the wounded were waiting. because the man really was holding on for his life! Then he Corpses lay beneath the wheels of the blue helmets’ vehicles. tried to hang on to us. The Zambian said to us, “Let him It was horrifying. People threw themselves against the go, don’t keep him here. Tell him to leave — the Rwandan barbed wire trying to get into the barracks. Around 200-300 soldiers are in the camp.” The Rwandans had managed to died, crushed against the barracks doors. We saw piles of get into the blue helmets’ camp. They managed to do worse dead people… The survivors were stoic as they stood there, still. When the door opened, they saw us. They climbed on their gaze empty. I recognised people in the crowd who I had the roof and fired from the roof of the blue helmets’ buil- worked with for six months. They asked for nothing. They ding, the United Nations’ building! The camp was just were just there. They weren’t moving any more. They knew it behind the area where they said there were snipers. was the end. In their eyes, this was the end. What more could happen? We crossed the field of dead bodies, entered, Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, and began treating the wounded, who were in terrible Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994 to May 1995 shape… Some had bullets in their faces. We put betadine - (in French). soaked compresses on them. That’s all we could do.

Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 (in French). According to all witnesses, the Rwandan army used heavy weapons against the crowd of displaced persons and beat those who tried to escape.

During that time, the crowd kept moving as the firing continued around and inside the first UNAMIR barracks where the Zambian battalion was housed and where 78 other members of the MSF team remained. cross once again had expanded. the campentrance.Thecorpse-coveredareatheyhadto Australian bluehelmetswhosebarrackswerelocatedat Zambian UNAMIRbarrackswerefinallyevacuatedby In thelateafternoon,fourMSFvolunteersin anymore had herarm lying next to her. sprawled out in front of us. One woman who wasn’t moving the crowdandblewpeopleup.Explodedbodieswere People werecompletelypackedtogether.Theshotfellinto fired. Theyshotintothecrowdwithanti-tankweapon. machine gunonaturretthatturnedtowardthehillsideand to kill the IDPs. were carefultoavoidfiringonus.TheRPAonlywanted the RPAsoldiersknewexactlywhattheyweredoingand off anexchangeoffirebetweentheRPAandUN.But that ifaUNsoldierwerehitbyaccident,wouldset and wecouldallbeexterminated.WhatImeantosayis In any event, they had the means to do it. One blunder gone crazyanddecidedtokillallofus(NGOsUN). that point,IbeganwonderingiftheRPAsoldiershadjust frightened aswewereandhuggingthewalls.At and Kalashnikovfire. The UN soldiers were obviously as machine guns,RPGs(mini-rocketlaunchers),grenades UN soldiers who were with us, the RPA was using heavy and took shelter again in the room. According to the The firingbecamemoreintense.Weheardheavyweapons Extract: When theshooting stoppedandwewereable togo,there of peoplegathered alongtheButareroad, ready toleave. After thatlongroundoffiring, therewerestillhundreds Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 everywhere, ineverydirection.Theyputahuge shot withanti-tankweapons…theywereshooting The peopleattheplacewegottoincarwere (in French). on theKibehoCampKillings,April18-231995.’ Etienne Quetin(MSFFrancelogistician),‘Report April 1995(in French). Kibeho team)‘TestimonyontheKilling,’ Geneviève Legrand (MSF France nurse on the Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). and 1 we triedtoleavetheywouldshootforbetween45minutes because wecouldn’tgetoutandrenegotiated.Eachtime were thinkingaboutsavingourselves.Wecameback sticks topushthemawayagain.Weprotested weakly. We tion. Thenitwasthebluehelmetsthatbeatthemwith we wentout,therefugeeswouldpressagainstusforprotec- threatened usandfiredoverourheadswithanRPG.When each attempt,the firing startedagain.Once the soldiers couldn’t stayanylonger.Wetriedtoleavefivetimes.With about at the end of our tether. Whatever happened, we truck. It was impressive. tarps so they were visible and went to get them with the one ofhistrucks,put12soldiersinside,raisedthe said, “MakeaU-turn.”ThentheAustraliancommandertook get out,theRwandansfiredovertheirheadsandFrancis didn’t reallyrespecttheZambians.Eachtimetheytriedto you pushateam that’sbeencompletelytraumatised byan publish thenumbers rightaway.”Thatwasdifficult. Howdo an estimateforParis?They’re pushingme—theywantto afternoon. Isaidtothemon theradio,“Canyougiveme the wholeway.Theymanaged togetoutattheendof point andwalked150metres — walkingonpiled-upcorpses time I’ve walked on so many bodies.” They crossed a check - from Kigali notto shoot and not tointervene. more. Itwasscaryforus,too.Andthentheygottheorder in quiteastate!Theydidn’tknowwhatwasgoingonany ted us.TheZambianswerecompletelyflattened.They Camp II, they hadtowalk over piles of bodies. mowed down. When the team was able to come back from no onewasleftstandingonthathillside.They’dallbeen Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994to May 1995 Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 1/2 didn’t wanttospendthenightthere.Wewerejust each otherthatitwasabout5or6p.m.andwe We didn’t have any more radio batteries. We said to couple ofguysactingasescorts.ButtheRwandans Zambian bluehelmetcommander,alongwitha The fourvolunteerstriedtocrosswithFrancis,the many dead, etc. Didier said to me,“This is thefirst Paris. Parispushedmetogivenumbers—how I wasincontactwiththeteambyradioand hours. Finally,theAustralianbluehelmetsevacua- Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). (in French).

79 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

event like that? I said to them, “We’ll talk about it again, ded, senior United Nations military officials said, shot but try to give me a figure anyway.” They answered, by Rwandan Government troops or trampled to death in “Thousands!” “Thousands? That’s good enough for me, the ensuing panic. The government said 300 people had that’s a massacre!” So I called Paris and said, “You can tell been killed. Armed Hutu militias inside the camps coer- the press there are thousands dead.” ced and incited people to try to run through the troops lines. Scores of Hutu were also attacked by others with […], MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in machetes, United Nations officials said. Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 (in French). Except for several hundred bodies that lay scattered near a brick building, most of those killed Saturday were already buried. The dirt road that crosses the camp here and the hills nearby were empty and still today, marked only by skeletons and thatched huts and carpeted by blood. MSF France denounced the killings in a press release. By early morning today, almost all of the bodies of those killed here had already been buried by Rwandan soldiers, United Nations peacekeepers said. Many were shoved into latrines or piled into shallow graves. The soldiers did not allow access to certain areas to any United Nations or ‘Thousands of Victims in Kibeho: Médecins Sans relief workers until after the cleanup. The delay prevented Frontières Denounces the Massacres,’ Press the United Nations from realising the full extent of the Release, 22 April 1995 (in French). carnage until today, when they estimated the toll at 2,000 dead and more than 600 wounded. Extract: Crossing through the Kibeho camp this afternoon, the Médecins Sans Frontières team offered a rough estimate of the massacre’s victims, placing the number of dead at “several thousand.” The MSF team was unable to reach During the day, an MSF volunteer gathered statements the Kibeho hospital until late Saturday morning. The RPA from the blue helmets confirming the information. had forbidden access until 11:30 a.m. The shooting began in the early morning and did not stop. Later, the teams reached the UNAMIR encampment, where they were able to treat some 60 wounded. They were able to carry out between five and 15 evacuations to the Butare surgical ‘Statement of an MSF doctor and international hospital. volunteer,’ MSF Belgium doctor, member of the The firing continued into mid-afternoon. Shocked by the team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, carnage and aware that it was impossible to reach the 1995) (in French). wounded, the teams, along with the other organisations present, decided to temporarily evacuate the camp. A Extract: scaled-back Médecins Sans Frontières team is expected I took advantage of the calm to take statements from the to return tomorrow to Kibeho, security conditions per- blue helmets. mitting. In Butare, surgical teams are ready to treat the 1) An English major-parachutist. severely wounded that can be evacuated. “Do you see that red spot there? It’s a body.” I saw the person surrender yesterday with his arms upraised. The soldier approached and shot him. - Just here, near the wall, a family surrendered, their arms upraised, and a soldier threw a grenade in the air On Sunday, 23 April, when the MSF team arrived at the - I put the number of dead in front of the UNAMIR II camp site, the thousands of bodies had disappeared. The RPA last night at least 500. soldiers refused access to the hospital and to UNAMIR’s 2) an Australian private: second barracks. - We counted 4,050 bodies but we couldn’t count all of them. - Yes, there were armed civilians with single shot rifles. How many? Five or six. They (the RPA) worked all night. Donatella Lorch, ‘As many as 2,000 are reported dead in Rwanda’, The New York Times (USA), 24 April 1995 (in English).

Extract: The MSF volunteers helped the Australian UNAMIR An estimated 2,000 members of the Hutu ethnic group battalion’s medical team at the first UNAMIR barracks 80 were killed here on Saturday and more than 600 woun- treat the wounded. The team then tried to evacuate the I askedChristian tocomewithmebecause Iwasafraid “We’ll go.” “No, it’s too dangerous. There are snipers everywhere.” “You don’t want to go backand get them?” “There are three newborns alone in thepaediatrics unit.” hospital, the Australian soldiers came to see usand said in amattress and Iwanted to fetchit.After touring the get it.IhadaskedtheRwandanradiooperatorstohideit I knewtheydidn’thavetheradioandwantthemto had beenalivethedaybeforeandshotdead. newborns. Theyalsofoundthebodiesofpatientswho a forayintothehospitalandcamebackwitheight A doctorandlogisticianfromtheMSFteamattempted ted. didn’t knowwhathappenedtotheoneswhowereevacua- put himinatrucksothattheICRCcouldevacuatehim.We him. The poor guyhadspent the nightin latrines. We Australians drovehimoff.Wegrabbedandtookcareof RPA soldierseverywherewhowantedtobeathim.The helmets continued to bury the dead. patients to the Kabutare hospital in Butare. The blue the corpses and buriedthem. people backfromthehospital.Thebluehelmetscollected than helpingtheAustraliansandbringingafewwounded Kabutare. Wecouldn’tdoanyrealme5dicalworkother I leftwithabout90woundedpeople,headingtoward UNAMIR camp,whereIremaineduntilaround5p.m.Then Around noon,weendedupagainatKibehocamp,the Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 had stoleneverything,includingthegenerators.But ning there and to get our VHF radio. The RPF soldiers I wantedtogothehospitalseewhatwashappe- in excrementandrantowardsusbecausetherewere latrine wherehehadhidden.Hecameoutcovered We treatedamanwho’dgottenoutalivefrom 1995) (inFrench). team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, volunteer,’ MSFBelgiumdoctor,memberofthe ‘Statement ofanMSFdoctorandinternational Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). shelled. people a6p.m.ultimatum.Afterthat,theywouldbe were snipershiddeninthecrowd,RPAgave buildings andrefusedtoleave.Declaringthatthere Around 2,000displacedpersonstookrefugeinthe the hospital. was obviousthatthesoldiershadexecutedpatientsin to movesoquicklytherewasn’ttimeremovethem.It We hadtoputthebodiesingravewithIVs. alive. WefounddeadpatientswiththeirIVsstillinplace. “cleaned out”thehospital.Therewasonlyonepatientstill them back and the ICRC evacuated them…The RPA had I hid it between the four infants in my arms. We brought I each had to carry four babies. I went to get my radio and helmets didn’twanttoputtheirgunsdownsoChristianand months, laynakedonabed,shriekingwithhunger.Theblue went overthere.Eightbabies, between twoweeksand escort usbecausetherewereRPAtroopsinthehospital.We yelling atus,“Youjerks!Youstupididiots!”Buttheyhadto and didn’twanttogoalone.Weleft.TheAustralianswere by force. soldiers determinedtodislodgethedisplacedpersons Kibeho siteandtriedtocalmtheardourofRPA In themorning,justiceministerhadcometo until 6 p.m. localtime (also Paristime) to leave. person, saidthattheRwandanarmyhadgivencrowd staff memberonsite,RayWilkinson,theagencyspokes- persons’ camp in southwestern Rwanda. Quoting a UNHCR persons, putupafinalresistanceattheKibehodisplaced a groupofaround2,000Hutu,includingsomearmed A UN spokesperson in Nairobi announced that on Sunday, Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 French). AFP ‘UN SaysLastPocketofResistanceinKibeho,’ Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (France), Nairobi, 23 April 1995 (in (in French).

81 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

into graves. Another two thousand bodies remain to be gathered up Sunday night, including women and children ‘Statement of an MSF doctor and international whose bodies were crushed, men who were disfigured volunteer,’ MSF Belgium doctor, member of the and children torn apart by grenades. According to a UN team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, Assistance Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) report provided 1995) (in French). Sunday afternoon, several thousand people were killed and 1,500 to 2,000 wounded. Other UN sources in Kigali Extract: place the total dead at 8,000… According to UNAMIR, The Minister of Justice, as well as another minister I didn’t soldiers fired on Saturday when the displaced persons know, visited the camp when Major General Toussignant tried to force the army’s security cordon. But according to was there, too. When the minister was informed of the Ray Wilkinson, UNHCR spokesperson in Nairobi, “nervous” soldiers’ intentions (to kill the 2,000 people who had soldiers opened fired first when the refugees tried to find taken refuge in the building) he negotiated and secured shelter from torrential rains. their agreement to “starve the people out.” According to a UNHCR representative, the general confirmed that he would withdraw his forces if the RPA attacked again. On a visit to the site, Rwandan President, Pasteur Bizimungu, and Defence Minister, and RPA leader, Paul Kagame, declared that 300 victims had been crushed While in Brussels, Rwandan Prime minister Faustin against the gate of the blue helmets’ locked barracks Twagiramungu expressed his regret at the heavy loss of during a riot. The commander of the UNAMIR Zambian life and announced that an inquiry would be conduc- battalion accused the RPA of using heavy weapons ted into the Rwandan soldiers’ responsibility for the against the displaced persons. That day, following killings. death threats, he had to be evacuated immediately by helicopter.

‘Rwandan Army and UN Bury the Kibeho Dead,’ AFP (France), 23 April 1995 (in French). Donatella Lorch, ‘As many as 2,000 are reported dead in Rwanda’, The New York Times (USA), Extract: 24 April 1995 (in English). While visiting Brussels, Rwandan Prime Minister Faustin Twagiramungu promised to punish the soldiers involved Extract: in the Kibeho killings if it was proven that they acted During a visit to Kibeho today, President Pasteur Bizimungu deliberately. “If this was an act of legitimate self-defence, said that the numbers were wildly exaggerated and that there is nothing further to be said,” the prime minister the troops had killed no more than 300 people. Radio noted. He expressed regret at the heavy loss of life. “If Rwanda said today that “criminals” inside the camp had these were deliberate acts, we condemn them and will not provoked clashes. tolerate them.” “The figure that has been given has been greatly exaggerated”, President Bizimungu said. It is a pity that people have died. But people inside the camp had arms and were violent. The international community has been shocked because they have been told lies.” In mid-afternoon, the UNAMIR spokesperson announced Yet to the relief workers, United Nations medical per- to the press that the RPA had killed several thousand sonnel and visitors who witnessed the shootout, it was displaced persons. V6 obvious that the figures were much higher than the ones the government gave. The president argued at length with the Zambian commander of the peacekeepers here, Capt. Francis Sikaonga, accusing him and the United Nations of giving false death tolls. Mr Bizimungu’s aides called the ‘Rwandan Army and UN Bury the Kibeho Dead,’ Zambian commander a “fool” and “stupid”. AFP (France), 23 April 1995 (in French).

Extract: The Rwandan Patriotic Army (majority Tutsi) and UN forces worked Sunday to bury the dead from the Kibeho displaced Kagame and the President arrived by helicopter. They persons’ camp in southwestern Rwanda, where the RPA wanted to talk with their soldiers, Francis (the blue killed at least 5,000 Rwandan Hutu on Saturday. Bodies helmets’ commander) and us. Francis was in a state 82 lay among the ruins while stretcher-bearers threw corpses of collapse. He was distraught. He told Kagame that his army convinced that they would beable to. They toldus,“We’lldefendthem.”ButIthinktheywere blem. Maybe,indirectly, they putoutamessageofsafety. population. I think that might have been part of the pro- eyes. TheyreallytalkedwiththeIDPs.lived in othercountries.Wefeltliketheycouldn’tbelievetheir principles. Theyhadtakenpartinpeacekeepingoperations soldiers’ attitude.Theywereallprofessionalsoldierswith tank weapons.”TheycouldnotunderstandtheRwandan They said,“Youdon’tshootwomenandchildrenwithanti- Gikongoro, were stunned. Thesewere professional soldiers. tion. The soldiers in his regiment, who were based in repeated thatrequestalldaylongandnevergotauthorisa- of sausageonthetable.Hesaid,“Asasoldier,Idon’tunders quickly. I met him Sunday night with Didier. There were slices contact withhim. We wrotetoeachother. He was tornup.” what gooditwilldo,butatleastIdidit.”Lateronwehad hope itwillreachBoutros-Ghali’sdesk.Idon’tknow clear order: ‘You are only to watch!’ I sent in a report and I case, when I called my superiors in Kigali, I received a very I sawpeoplewholookedlikeyourbitsofsausage!Inany tand howsoldierscanfireonacrowdwithanti-tankweapons. said that infrontofthe authorities, whodidn’tsayaword. Kagame, “Shutuporyou’regoingtobeintrouble.”They said toFrancis,whowastalkingthepresidentand around Kagame-guyswearingsneakers,notevenboots military logicwastotallyconfused.Thentheyoungsoldiers Anti-tank weapons are made to be used against tanks. His name doesnotfireatacrowdwithananti-tankweapon. them allsortsofnamesandsaidthatasoldierworthythe was noarmy,butabandofkillersandbuggers.Hecalled Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(in French). Gikongoro, Rwanda, from November 1994to May 1995 Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 […], MSF France Emergency cell, thencoordinator in have killedhimifhehadn’tleftthecountryvery mander. Theywantedtotakehimout.would The RPAwas looking fortheZambianUNAMIRcom ral timesaskingforpermissiontocounterattack.He saw him call his commanding officer in Butare seve- The commander, Francis, was a really good guy. I Catherine Quillet, MSF France field coordinator, Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). (in French). - - available to displaced persons. vors’ forcedmarchtoButare,andthelackofprotection notified thepressofthousandsdead,survi- assistance alongtheroad.ThedifferentMSFsections Others fledintothehills.MSFteamstriedtoprovide by RPA soldiers, to theneighbouring town of Butare. vived thekillingsetoffonaforcedmarch,underthreat The tensofthousandsdisplacedpersonswhosur- commune. camps installedintheNyakisu,RunyinyaandGishamvu Butare prefectureandareforciblybeingledtotransit More than70%ofthedisplacedareoriginallyfrom harassed by the localpopulation. accompany the displaced, may are also beaten up and among theforcedmarchers.AccordingtoMSFteamswho now, dozens of victims are collapsing from exhaustion Without shelter,havinglackedfoodandwaterfor5days Butare had been ledtothecity stadium. of Butare,some20kilometresaway,and12,000arrivedin Sunday morning,some80,000peoplehadlefttothetown march –controlledbytheRPAmilitaryand,asofthis The displacedpopulationshadtoundertakeaforced Eighty thousand on aforcedmarch and holdingthe convoys ofwounded at checkpoints. tal. The RPA is preventing the evacuation of the wounded, only beenabletobring40woundedtheButarehospi- the Kibehoincident.However,UNAMIRtroopshave teams arereadytooperateontheheavilywoundedfrom In theButarehospital,MédecinsSansFrontières’surgical ded. and opposed the evacuation by helicopters of the woun- Médecins SansFrontièresfromoperatinginthecamps, 30 woundedinthehospital,butRPAispreventing The campisnowempty,withtheexceptionofsome Frontières (Doctors Without Borders). sands, reports[…],thefieldcoordinatorofMédecinsSans western Rwanda,killingbetweenfiveandeightthou- fire onthedisplacedpopulationsofKibehocampin the militaryarmofRwandanPatrioticFront),opened Yesterday, soldiersfromRwandanPatrioticArmy(RPA- Extract: Release, 23 April 1995(inEnglish). march’, MédecinsSansFrontièresUSAPress among the80,000displacedpeopleonaforced Kibeho camp,andmanycollapseofexhaustion ‘Five toeightthousandvictimsofmassacresin

83 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

‘Forced March for Kibeho’s 100,000 Displaced Médecins Sans Frontières Kigali, ‘Report on Persons: Tens of Thousands of People Collapse Events in Kibeho Camps, April 1995’, 16 May en Route - MSF Angered by UNAMIR’s Inability 1995 (in English). to Protect Civilians,’ MSF Belgium Press Release, 23 April 1995 (in French). Extract: An MSF nurse who had been working in a first aid post on Extract: the road Butare-Runyinya said: “I guess I saw between Médecins Sans Frontières gets indignant about the inca- 10,000 and 15,000 people pass by on foot. Many of them pacity of the MINUAR to ensure protection to civilian had bullet wounds, and were beaten up with sticks. The populations, according to its mandate. The passive atti- way they had been beaten up was the most shocking: tude of the MINUAR confronted to yesterday massacres they could not sit up or lay down any more, they could and to human rights violations witnessed by our teams is hardly move any more. I saw people being stoned by the intolerable. public on the road between Butare station and Runyinya. Sometimes they had to walk through a corridor of stone- throwing people.”

‘Rwanda’ MSF France draft Press Release, 23 April 1995 (in French). We headed toward Butare and came across people Extract: who were walking, including our nurses, wearing Firing continued throughout the night and this afternoon rags. They had lost everything, it had been taken. around the Kibeho hospital, as RPA soldiers tried to dis- They were barefoot and in tatters. When we got to Butare, lodge the few people still fighting them. A Médecins Sans people were lined up throwing rocks at the car. They knew Frontières team of 17 people went to Kibeho. The team we were MSF and they were throwing stones at the people saw 100 wounded people in the UNAMIR encampment. we were accompanying … On Sunday, people were still on Most had gunshot wounds. The camp is practically empty the road. But Monday morning, we headed back in the other now. In the afternoon, the Rwandan staff decided to leave direction and when we got close to the camp, in places on the hospital. the side of the road, especially in front of the tea fields, we The RPA continued to push and harass the populations found clothing scattered everywhere. We think they must along the road. It prevented those already on the road have said to people, “Now get going! Run!” And they pro- from stopping or grouping together. Thousands of people, bably fired on the crowd… We didn’t look for bodies. Did including many women and children, are now heading they fire on the crowd or not? I don’t know. Returning to toward the south and west. Many have taken refuge in Gikongoro, we stopped the car every so often in little, empty the hills. On the road, they face hostility from local popu- places. We waited and people came out to see us. There lations. were people with bullets in their stomachs, etc. They cate- In Butare, the Médecins Sans Frontières teams are taking gorically refused to let us take them to the hospital. We charge of the wounded. But the city is unprepared to gave them betadine compresses and wished them good luck. receive the displaced persons and guarantee their safety They didn’t want to come and we couldn’t protect them. We for any period of time. Tomorrow, mobile teams are sche- understood that we could offer only extremely minimal pro- duled to investigate the roads to the south and east of tection … How’s that for a cold shower! Kibeho and arrange for water and feeding stations and treatment centres. Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 (in French).

‘Statement of an MSF doctor and international volunteer,’ MSF Belgium doctor, member of the team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, The displaced persons were gathered in the Butare 1995) (in French). stadium and then, under RPA control, were taken by bus to their home communes. The few UN observers Extract: present limited themselves to counting people without Along the road, you could see personal effects abandoned actually registering them. by hundreds of people. I was able to pick up several wounded people and unaccompanied minors. Groups of IDPs were walking at night, escorted by soldiers. 84 wounded had to face the hostility of the hospital staff. rities blockedtransferstootherhospitals.TheKibeho wounded totheButarehospital,butRwandanautho - ICRC andMSFtriedtotransportthemostseriously villages. left, headingtowardthehillstotakepeopleback alone. Familieswerebrokenup.Itwashorrible.Thebuses forced peopletogetinthebuses.Thekidsstayedbehindall There wasn’tasingleUNHCRorUNemployee.Thesoldiers Rwandan soldierswereinbusesbearingtheUNsymbol. selected andputinbusespaidforbytheUNorUNHCR… We didn’treallyknowwhatwasgoingonthere.Peoplewere local IOM driver. RPA militaryandalocalIOMassistant,drivenby of thecampswesawtrucksthatwereescortedonlyby Sunday 23 and Monday 24 April during the big exodus out UNAMIR escortofthetrucks,aswellRPAmilitary.On on the days before the massacre there had been some munes therewasnotalwaysinternationalpresence.Only On thetruckstransporting the peoplebacktocom- number of observers, proceeded in anorderly manner. tion processinButare,wheretherewasaconsiderable Sunday 23andMonday24.Thecountingtransporta- Other displacedhavebeentransportedbackintruckson Extract: 300 woundedpeople. Asthetriagesupervisor onthenight tal. Basedonestimates madeonsite,weadmitted atleast carrying thewounded,including UNAMIR’s,tothehospi- Once wegottoKabutare,Imanaged togetallthetrucks Extract: Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994toMay 1995 they werenotdehydratedandhadaccesstowater. Belgium wasthere to treatpeopleandmakesure The soldierstookpeopletotheButarestadium.MSF 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton 1995) (inFrench). team at Kibeho on 22 April (written May 10, volunteer,’ MSFBelgiumdoctor,memberofthe ‘Statement ofanMSFdoctorandinternational Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF Francephysician, (in French). 30 unaccompanied minors were at thehospital. arriving atthehospitalonWednesdayandThursday.Some beneath theshoulder.Thelastofwoundedwerestill in thebackorside.Mostofchildrenhadbulletwounds More thanhalfthewoundedpresentedwithentrywounds exploding bullets,butI’drathererronthesideofcaution. My hunchisthatatleast90percentwerewoundedby wounded hadbeeninjuredbybulletsand/orexplosions. of the23rd,Icanstatethatatleasttwo-thirds at theendof dayonSundaytotellthe medicalteam RPA commander forGikongoroprefecture,came toKigeme ded weredisturbinglyfew. Colonel PatrickMyamvumba, were tryingtotreatthewounded. Thenumbersofwoun- metres from theKibeho camp, humanitarian organisations On SundayinthelittleKigeme hospital,around20kilo- Extract: to dispensaries in thesurrounding areas. ICRC totheMSFhospitalinGitarama,andotherpatients Then the25mostseriouspatientsweretransferredby morning. ICRC succeededinkeepingthewoundedtheretillnext to the university hospital in Butare. stay there any longer, and had to be brought immediately were underway,andorderedthatthewoundedcouldnot showed upwithhismen,triedtostoptheoperationsthat by bullets.ButseveralhourslaterahighRPAcommander to admitsome40displaced,almostallofthemwounded long negotiationsinternationalaidworkersgotpermission On SundayintheprivatehospitalofKigemeonlyafter access inthelateafternoontosetupoperating-theatres. patients inandthenclaimed to befull.ICRCnegotiated of Butare(800beds).LateronSunday23theyallowed10 patients frombeinghospitalisedintheuniversityhospital surgical capacitywaspresent.InitiallytheRPAprevented crowded MSFrunhospitalinButaretoKigali,wheremore rities inButaretotransportthewoundedfromover- UNAMIR andICRCgetpermissionfromthelocalautho- Neither onSunday23April,northefollowing days did Tuesday 25th onwardsinthe communes. several MSFmobilemedicalteamshavebeenactivefrom are working.AwaystationwassetupinButare,and University hospital,andseveralhealthcentreswhereNGOs hospital in Butare, the private hospital in Kigemi,Butare Wounded displacedhavebeenadmittedtotheMSFrun Extract: 1995 (inEnglish). Events inKibehoCamps,April1995’,16May Médecins SansFrontièresKigali,‘Reporton (France), 23 April1995(inFrench). ‘Statements on the Kibeho Killings,’ AFP

85 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

that the wounded had to be evacuated to the Butare uni- undoubtedly the price they had to pay to maintain their versity hospital. “We want to know how many wounded presence at the hospital. They talked with Mario Goethals, there are and who they are,” he announced to journalists. MSF Belgium’s operations director. It didn’t go very well. The medical staff present were worried, fearing the sol- Mario told them there would be no protest on the issue. diers’ intentions. The wounded in the little hospital’s tents numbered only around 15. Most had bullet wounds. Anne Guibert, MSF France communications officer on mission in Rwanda, April 1995 (in French).

‘MSF Activities in Butare Hospital’ MSF Holland sitrep, 12 May 1995 (in English). Until Wednesday 26 April the MSF team was refused access to the whole Kibeho site, which was reserved Extract: for ICRC volunteers and a few journalists. On Monday The other patients are severely injured by beatings and 24 April the MSF sections issued Press Releases stonings. The children especially are very traumatised. In denouncing this situation and the difficulties of wor- general there is an atmosphere of big tension and fear. king at Butare. The work was complicated by the many electricity cuts in the hospital. At the entrance of the hospitals the RPA installed a checkpoint, at which they sometimes refused access to MSF for a while and made minute checks on the supplies and cars. ‘After last weekend’s carnage, the situation of As almost none of the local staff was willing to help the displaced persons continues to be worrying’, displaced patients, the expats were doing all the work in MSF France Press Release, 24 April 1995 (in the hospital themselves, including the general hygiene. French). They were overburdened, which was the worse as all post- operation patients need a lot of care to avoid infections. Extract: According to one MSF-nurse: The RPA is preventing all humanitarian organisations from “However, the worst are the departures. The patients reaching the displaced persons camps. This morning RPA often pass through a crisis when they have to leave the soldiers forced the Médecins Sans Frontières teams, under hospital and get into a truck. Normally we do not accom- pain of bombing the hospital, to leave the hospital at the pany them, but we did a few days ago. Just outside the Kibeho camp where they had come to help look after the hospital a group of 40 to 50 people were throwing stones injured. Nor is anyone allowed to visit the Kamana and the at the patients in the truck. We stood up, and then they Munini camps. The army therefore seems to be doing all in stopped.” its power to prevent the international organisations from treating the wounded. MSF strongly condemns the savage methods the RPA used to dismantle camps and demands that the populations should have access to treatment centres. In spite of the MSF Belgium was in Butare with a surgical team. massive foreign presence in the country generally, and There had been there for a while. They admitted particularly the 5,500 UNAMIR troops mandated to protect IDPs who arrived in an awful state with very infected civilian populations, the government and the army now wounds. I went to spend a day at the hospital to help out seem to have a free hand to put an end to the question of the Kibeho team, along with a surgeon and a logistician, displaced populations. who had been made available to MSF Belgium. They operated on gangrenous wounds and performed amputations. Frankly, it was horrible and they were very, very shocked. They were working in the worst conditions. Those patients were clearly segregated. The hospital staff didn’t talk to ‘Aid to Kibeho Victims still Hampered by the them or take care of them. They were really pariahs. MSF Rwandese Army- MSF condemns the RPA attacks handled their operations, but the post-surgical follow-up against Kibeho and the United Nations’ failure was awful. And then worst of all, the Rwandan army came to protect civilians in Rwanda’, MSF UK Press for them, put them in trucks and we didn’t know what hap- Release, 24 April 1995 (in English). pened after that. The volunteers told me that they wanted to protest the disappearance — to who knows where--of Extract: some of the wounded people after they had passed through MSF calls on the Rwandan government to restore discipline a transit camp where MSF had access. They were very shoc- within the ranks of the RPA and stop all violence against ked and wanted to make a lot of noise about it. And they civilians. were shocked that the rest of the MSF Belgium team no MSF calls on the United Nations to ensure the effective 86 longer protested to local Rwandan authorities. But that was protection of Rwandan civilians as laid out in its mandate. teams hadnumbered atleast4000 bodies inthe after themassacre, theAustralianUNAMIR medical spokesperson announcedto thepressthatonday On themorningof24April, anAustralianmilitary reinforce the teamsalready present in the field. An extra surgical unit was dispatched this morning to shelters). biscuits, surgicalkits,dressings,mobiledispensaries, with personneland35tonnesofextraaid(high-protein A cargoplanewilltakeofffromOstendairporttomorrow back totheir villages. Butare andforthemtoaccompanydisplacedpopulations become moreinvolvedintheprovincesofGikongoroand 127 humanrightsobserversalreadypresentinRwandato MSF isappealingtotheUnitedNationsandEUfor to beable to treatorevacuate the injured. the casualties, particularly in theKibeho camp, in order Médecins SansFrontièresdemandsimmediateaccessto frequently mistreated by thelocal people. tion totheoriginalhillstheycamefrom,whereare transit centres. From there they are taken without protec- their homecommunesarefirstscreenedbytheRPAin Displaced populationswhoarebeingforcedtoreturn unevacuated casualties. no accesstotheKibehohospitalandthuscannottreat Kibeho camp. At present, humanitarian organisations have the Kibege field hospital located 20 kilometres from the accept victimsoftheKibehomassacre.TheRPAhasclosed gement at the Butare University Hospital is refusing to are beingpreventedfromreceivingtreatment:themana- Displaced populationsthroughouttherestofregion the Kibehocamp yesterday. on nearly200woundedsurvivorswhowerebroughtfrom surgeons presentattheMSFhospitalKabutareoperated All through Sunday night and into today the teams of sending 35tonnesofemergencyequipmentbycargoplane. currently operatinground-the-clock.TomorrowMSFwillbe prefecture. TeamsofsurgeonsintheKabutarehospitalare activities of human rights observers present in the Butare camp andappealstotheUnitedNationsintensify wounded survivorsoflastSaturday’smassacreintheKibeho Brussels, 24 April 1995. MSF demands free access to the survivors of themassacre. humanitarian aid organisations immediate access to the MSF isalsocallingontheRwandangovernmenttoallow deployed in the Butarearea. United Nationshumanrightsobserversshouldurgentlybe Extract: 24 April 1995 (inFrench). Kibeho massacre,’MSFBelgiumPressRelease, ‘MSF demandsfreeaccesstothevictimsof Minister. ned inBrusselsadayearlierbytheRwandanPrime Kibeho camp.Thisfigurecorroboratesthatmentio- UN operation, General GuyToussignantvisited theKibeho A UNAMIRPress Releaseindicatesthatthe commanderof estimation. at 2,000incomparisontothe 5,000giveninanearlier on Saturdayin the Kibeho camp, estimating the figure Hutu massacredbytheRwandan PatrioticArmy(RPA) (UNAMIR) reviseddownwards thenumberofdisplaced The UnitedNationsAssistanceMissionforRwanda Extract: and the wounded at600. Press ReleaseinKigaliestimatingthedeadat2,000 Three hourslater,theUNAMIRcommanderissueda had beenkilled in themassacre and about500wounded. Derycke, indicatedonSundayeveningthat5,100people in Kigali,theBelgianMinisterforForeignAffairs,Erik Based oninformationprovidedbytheBelgianEmbassy whereas UNsourcesonthegroundindicated8,000dead. massacre resultedin5,000deadand600to700wounded, According to a United Nations spokesperson in Geneva the be evacuated from the camp”… there were“between1,500and2,000woundedwaitingto 4,000 and8,000killed,probablycloseto7,000”that ted thatforhim“thetotalcountwassomewherebetween ther Australianspokesperson,MajorPeterSeaman,indica- When questionedbytheAustralianAssociatedPressano- fairly close tothe total numberof people killed”. 4,000 bodiesthattheycouldsee.Ithinkfigureis 10,000 is too high, our men counted (on Sunday) nearly national radio,theestimateddeathtollof“8,000to According toColonelDamienRoachspeakingonAustralian son onMonday. least 4,000bodies,saidanAustralianmilitaryspokesper- Kibeho (southwestRwanda)campmanagedtocountat on Sunday to visit the scene of Saturday’s massacre in the Assistance MissionforRwanda(UNAMIR)whomanaged The AustralianmedicalteamsoftheUnitedNations Extract: V7 least 4,000 bodies’, ‘The Australian UNAMIR doctors counted at 300’, at Kibeho;theRwandanPresidentestimates ‘UNAMIR revises downwards thenumbers killed (in French). AFP (France), 24 April1995(inFrench). AFP (France), 24 April 1995

87 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

camp on Sunday and that “as a result of a more scientific totally disproportionate to the objective, which was to count of the dead, the figure was revised downward to transport these people out of the camps”, declared Mrs about 2 000”. The release underlines the fact that the Ogata, exhorting the governments of the region to main- number of wounded is estimated to be in excess of 600. tain their borders open and to respect the principle of the right to asylum. She called on the Rwandan government to guarantee humane and decent treatment for the tens of thousands of people who fled from the camps… The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Another concern for UNHCR is the reinstatement of refu- Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for gees in their original villages, which the Kigali govern- Refugees, and the French Prime Minister condemn the ment called for and has proved to be dangerous. Kibeho massacre. The Dutch government announces the “We fear they may receive a dubious reception”, said the suspension of direct aid to the Rwandan government. spokesperson of UNHCR, Ron Redmond, indicating that in many localities the houses abandoned by refugees have since been occupied by other people. He added that UNHCR had received information concerning incidents over the last forty-eight hours. “Displaced people have ‘The high Commissioner for human rights been welcomed back to their villages with stones and expresses his shock and outrage at the massive batons,” he said. loss of life at the Kibeho internally displaced persons’ camp in Rwanda’, UNHCR Press Release, 24 April 1995 (in English).

Extract: ‘The UN cannot send an important force to The return of IDPs is a valid objective and the High Rwanda and Burundi, says Mr Juppé’, AFP Commissioner shares the concern of the government (France), 24 April 1995 (in French). of Rwanda that certain elements of former Government forces and militia have been organizing and inciting Extract: unrest, aimed at political destabilization. However, the The minister described the massacre committed by the action undertaken by the RPA on the morning of 22 April Rwandan Patriotic Army when evacuating the refugee 1995 at the Kibeho camp has developed into a dramatic camps in southwest Rwanda as “odious and unacceptable” violation of human rights which needs to be condemned acts and added that the EU would soon be making a decla- and can not be justified in any circumstances… ration to condemn them. Mr. Clarance, Head of the Human Rights Field Operation in Rwanda (HRFOR), called on the authorities to take all possible steps to avoid further bloodshed and in particular, to deal humanely with the remaining 1,000 persons who have refused to leave Kibeho. He further emphasized the need “The Hague suspends direct aid to Kigali,” AFP to ensure the security of persons from Kibeho at present (France), 24 April 1995 (in French). on the road to their home communes and also of those presently quartered in the Butare Stadium. Following Extract: the tragedy, Mr. Clarance proceeded to Kibeho with the The Dutch minister for cooperation and development, Minister of Interior and Minister of Justice and discussed Jan Pronk, announced on Monday that he had decided measures to facilitate the return of displaced persons and to suspend direct aid to the Kigali government following refugees to their communes. Saturday’s massacre by the Rwandan army of thousands of Hutu refugees in the Kibeho camp. In a letter addressed to the Dutch parliament, M. Pronk explained that his decision had been prompted by the “abominable character of the violence”. ‘Kibeho butchery: UNHCR consternation and fears for the future’, AFP (France), 24 April 1995 (in French).

Extract: The Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation Mrs Sadako Ogata, the United Nations High Commissioner cancelled his aid to Rwanda that weekend. He went for Refugees, “condemned” on Monday “the brutal killing very too far in his criticisms of the RPF, and never of thousands of persons” in the Kibeho camp in Rwanda, recovered. He told me that several times afterwards. expressing her consternation and fears that the situation might escalate. Dr. Jacques de Milliano, MSF Holland General director 88 “Whatever the circumstances, the brutality of this act is (in English). same and froze all aid. Because hedidthat,alltheotherdonorcountries it publicthatyouarefreezingallassistancetoRwanda.” Holland andthenKigalisaid:“freezeallaidmake process ofnationalreconstructionandreconciliation. international opinionfromthegovernment’seffortsin unfounded figure and a manoeuvre destined todistract exaggeration ofthenumberdeadto8,000,acompletely We alsowishtoexpressourindignationattheoutrageous Interahamwe in theKibehocamp… fire inself-defencefollowingtheattackslaunchedby died whengovernmentforcesandUNAMIRtroopsopened that perpetratedthegenocideandmassacres.Others trampled todeathormutilatedbythesamemachetes lives ofbetween200and300theirsonsdaughters, Today theRwandanpeoplehaveunjustlypaidwith Extract: of between200 and300oftheirsons daughters, “The Rwandan peoplehaveunjustlypaid with thelives tribe) killednearly2,000displaced HutuonSaturday. Patriotic Army,totallydominated bytheminorityTutsi Assistance MissionforRwanda), theRPA(Rwandan Kibeho campwhere,according toUNAMIR(UnitedNations ted “between200and300” the numberofvictimsin During apressconferenceinKigali,M.Bizimunguestima - Extract: displaced camps. not separatinginnocentpeoplefromcriminalsinthe massacre andblamedtheinternationalcommunityfor blic, accusedHutumilitiaofbeingresponsibleforthe Pasteur Bizimungu, President of theRwandan repu- informed ofthemassacre.FromChinahewired the donorgrouptoRwanda.HewasinChinabut Jan Pronk,theDutchMinister,waschairmanof 1995 (inFrench). camps fordisplacedpersons’,Kigali,24April concerning thedecisiontocloseGikongoro ‘ April 1995(in French). international community’,AFP ‘Rwandan PresidentaccusesHutumilitiaand Declaration bythe Rwandan government Wouter Van Empelen,MSF Holland programme manager (in English). (France), 24 sacre and quotedMSFwitnesses. The internationalpressreportedonSaturday’smas- of upto 8,000 dead. the “outrageousexaggeration”ofthisaffairwithfigures return fire”.Hemoreoverdeclaredhimself“indignant”at militia armedwithmachinegunsandhadnochoicebutto President, the“soldierswereattackedonSaturdayby 500,000 TutsiandmoderateHutu.Accordingtothe of lastyear’sworstgenocidalmassacresmorethan Interahamwe”, theextremistHutumilitia,perpetrators camps fordisplacedpersonsthathadbecomehotbedsof ment wasledbytheinternationalcommunityto“tolerate According toPresidentBizimungu,theRwandangovern- perpetrated the genocide”,said the president. trampled todeathormutilatedbythesamemachetes that seemed to have suffocated in theheartof the camp. none”. Hewasreferringtoabout500people,mostofwho We couldn’tevengetthecarthrough.Todaytherewere MSF doctoradded:“YesterdayIwaswalkingoverbodies. camp, old people and women, it was indiscriminate”. An the armyshootingintobacksofpeoplefleeing when theworstofviolencetookplace,said:“Wesaw An MSFaidworker,EtienneQuétin,whowasinthecamp Extract: nitarian organisations could not prevent themassacre. United Nationspeacekeeping troopsandsome140huma- and withapopulationof4 million atmostbest,5,500 proportion -inacountryhardlyanylargerthanBrittany more generally?Theirresponsibilityisrelativetothedis - cular and the humanitarian organisations on the ground, What istheresponsibilityofUnitedNationsinparti - rocket-launchers…. prove thattheRPAusednotonlymachinegunsbutalso According toMédecinsSansFrontières(MSF)thewounds Extract: English). massacre,’ Sam Kiley,‘8000RwandanrefugeesdieinArmy Libération Launchers Against Refugees At Kibeho’, Soldiers ReportedToHaveUsedRocket- ‘The ArmyMassacres5,000HutuInRwanda: The Times,(UK)24April1995(in (France), 24April1995(inFrench).

89 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

The RPA ultimatum that threatened to bombard the 2,000 displaced persons sheltering in a school was renewed several times on Monday before being finally ‘Killings in Kibeho’, memo from Hanna Nolan, abandoned after the MSF Kigali team sounded the Humanitarian Affairs Department, MSF Holland alarm, thus mobilising the United Nations, embassies to Agnes Wagenaar, MSF Holland Kigali, 24 and international agencies. April 1995 (in English).

Extract: I am in the process of writing a proposed framework for the report and will send it to you hopefully by tomorrow… ‘The ‘Cleaning’ Of The Kibeho Camp Nearly I heard you were in Gikongoro to gather information Finished,’ AFP (France), 24 April 1995 (in on the events in Kibeho. Following a talk I had today French). with Karen Kenny (formerly UN human rights monitor in Rwanda) I would like to suggest a number of issues that Extract: you and Ton may want to follow up if you have not done Since Sunday the RPA several times renewed its ultimatum so already. to totally evacuate this school-hospital. On Monday it was What is the official response of the Rwandan government? to have been finished before noon. “But we can push back Have they announced an inquiry? Have they announced the deadline” a Rwandan officer stated, while the few they will suspend the soldiers involved in the killings foreigners present fear a deadly attack. pending investigation? If they have announced an inquiry, what conditions have they set to guarantee that this inquiry will be independent? Has the Special Rapporteur/High Commissioner for HR instructed the field operation (the UN human rights It was Monday. The army had been threatening to monitors) to look into these incidents? What is the field bomb the hospital. At 10:00 we went up to the site operation currently doing? Has the special Rapporteur for to see what was happening. Over the radio I told Rwanda asked for assistance from the Special Rapporteur Sophie, the Kigali administrator: «go and see Boutros on Extra judicial Executions, who is apparently currently Boutros-Ghali’s representative, tell him they want to blow up in Burundi? the hospital. It’s complete madness, we have to gain time.» The RPF had set a deadline for 11:00-noon. We were stuck at the checkpoint. The hospital was situated above us and we knew that if they bombarded it, we would be hit. The deadline came and we evacuated in the truck that an ICRC Tuesday 25 April, the Belgian Government announced delegate had managed to get in because he knew the people the suspension of its bilateral aid to Rwanda. well. We applied pressure in Kigali. Sophie had telephoned all over the place. I don’t know if it served any purpose but the ultimatum went back from one hour to the next. The ICRC delegate managed to evacuate wounded and children Press Release from the Belgian Ministry of that we picked up with another MSF car and two doctors. Foreign Affairs, Brussels, 25 April 1995 (in They managed to stabilise the condition of the wounded French). before sending them to Gikongoro and they gave some water and biscuits to the kids. The RPA never blew up the hospital. Extract: The last displaced persons continued to be stuck, surrounded As a result of events at Kibeho, the Minister for Foreign by the RPA, who controlled the whole zone. Affairs, Erik Derycke, called a meeting with the Rwandan interim ‘chargé d’affaires’ on 25 April 1995… […], MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in In accordance with the Plan of Action adopted at the Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 (in French). Bujumbura Conference, the Belgian authorities demanded an in-depth investigation and those responsible for the massacre to be identified and punished. In the meantime, Belgium has suspended its bilateral aid to Rwanda, with the exception of emergency aid that benefits the popula- In communication with the MSF ‘human rights’ per- tion directly, and aid in re-establishing a state of law… son in Rwanda, the MSF Holland humanitarian affairs Minister Derycke reminded the Rwandan representative department started to draft the broad outline of a that Belgium’s commitment in favour of Rwanda both on Report on events at Kibeho. the ground and in the international community aims at fostering the reconstruction of a democratic and not an ethnic Rwanda. This requires positive action on the part of the Rwandan government in order to promote the peaceful 90 return of the refugees and stability in Central Africa. Afterwards the journalistsaskedus:«butdoes thatmean in theback. We concentratedonthe medical data. Release wedeclaredthat70% ofthepeoplehadbeenshot tried togetawayhadbeenshot intheback.InPress what hadhappened.Theyexplained thatthepeoplewho telling thetruth.Theyexplained whattheyhadseenand were onthevergeoftears.It wasobviousthattheywere Information atKigali.Itwasverystrained.Thevolunteers came, aswellalotofpeoplefromtheMinistry In facttheyhadchangedtheirstory.Allthejournalists diers presentatKibehohadn’tseenthesamethingsasus. rical, thattherepresentativesofUNandUNAMIRsol - people deadbutonlyaboutahundred,thatwewerehyste - ment, thatwewerelying,thereweren’tthousandsof regime weresayingthatMSFwasagainsttheKigaligovern - Collines. AtthetimeUnitedNationsandKigali conference onthegroundfloorofHoteldesMille the back,shoulders,calf,etc…Weorganisedthispress the majorityofpeoplefleeinghadbeenhitbybulletsin speak, toprovidemedicaldatabecausewehadseenthat to saythings.Wedecidedthatourstrategywouldbe with traumatisedpeople.Theyareafraidbuttheystillwant to speak.Thentheydidn’twantThisisstandard situation of survivors hiding in thehills. difficulty ofgettingaccesstothewounded,and in Kigali,MSFvolunteersdescribedmassacres,the In thecourseofapressconferenceonsameday treat the wounded ontheground. to thevictims”,accordingMSF,whichcontinues The humanitarianorganisationshave“verylimitedaccess by their former neighbours as “genocidaires”. Many fearreprisalsandpoisoningafterbeingdenounced home without support, completely abandoned, he added. said [theMSFheadofmission].Theyaremakingtheirway people starttocomeoutfromcoverandaskforhelp”, “When we stop at the side of the road, after a little while Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). their homesinthetrucksofUnitedNationsHigh preferred tofleeintothehillsratherthanreturn head of missions], and half of the displaced persons “All thecampshavebeenemptied,”confirmed[theMSF Frontières (MSF) headof mission atKigali,[…] … the hills of southwest Rwanda, stated the Médecins Sans in the Kibeho campare still wandering, terrorised, through Half ofthedisplacedpersonswhofledfrommassacre Extract: together. Itwasverymoving.Thevolunteerswanted wanted tohaveapressconference.Weallworked Our relationswithKigaliwereverystrained.We April 1995(in French). in thenearbyhills.’AFP(France),Kigali,25 ‘Half oftheKibehodisplacedpersonsarehiding estimated by UNAMIR. representative to confirm thefigureof 4,000 dead as off justastheintervieweraskedUnitedNations tor generalofMSFHolland. The satellitelink was cut Kigali, Shahryar Khan, and Jacques de Milliano, direc- the UNinNewYork,representativeofat satellite adebatebetweentheRwandanambassadorto The Americannewsnetwork,CNN,retransmittedby tions. We were pretty muchattacked. and intheendRwandanjournalistsaskedlotsofques- criptions. That’s what they did but it was still very moving tions andhatred,sothattheywouldsticktomedicaldes- that theywouldn’tgivetoomuchexpressiontotheiremo- With theheadofmissionwepreparedvolunteersso wanted todescribe everything. Welistenedverycarefully. traumatised. Therewasonevolunteerinparticularwho because weprovidedtheproof.Thevolunteerswerevery unarmed civilians.Butthisisobviouslywhatwasreported unarmed butwedidnotclearlystatethattheRPAhadkilled could saythatthepeoplerunningawaywereciviliansand did notjudgethesituation.Basedonourmedicaldata,we that thesoldierswereoutofcontrol?Whathappened?»We down — he thoughtthat it wouldbe too dangerous. “well M.Khan,whatdoyouthink?”Khanputthetelephone very diplomatic.Thentheinterviewer,JonathanMannsaid: to stop counting when they had counted 4,500. Jacques was rybody. HealsosaidthattheUNcommandertoldhismen someone throws a stone at you and you start killing eve- it was completely outrageous, absolutely unbalanced — if CNN guyaskedJacqueswhathethought.saidthat population wasthrowingstonesatthesoldiers”.Then number killed—andthat“wewereprovokedbecausethe said thattherewasnomorethan80or120—averylow hotshot totheUNinKigaliandJacques.Theambassador view withtheRwandanambassadortoUN,Khanbig more appropriate.Weweretoldthatitwasaspecialinter- first 24hours. One oftheirguyssaid“it’san emer- ring whattodo. TheUNwasveryemotional inthe All theorganisationswerelooking atKibeho,wonde- [International Council]memberpresent—itwas Jacques shoulddoitsincehewastheonlyIC There wasaninterviewwithCNNat5pm.Isaidthat Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, Wouter Van Empelen,MSF Holland programme East Africa, 1994-1995 (inFrench) manager (in English).

91 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

gency meeting, come together. We have a report from our In the days following the massacres, the ‘cleaning up’ people in the field. They’ve counted 862 corpses (I think it of the bodies at the Kibeho site continued. Foreign must be in MSF Report) and then they stopped counting”. observers present on the site stated that they had That’s what I am sure of. He said that during the meeting. found bodies in the latrines but refused to speak And then in the meeting afterwards they did not mention a publicly of this. The MSF East Africa Communications figure because there were always people from the Ministry Officer gave this information to a few journalists, in that meeting and they couldn’t say anymore anything on pointing out that it was not MSF volunteers who had the subject… seen these bodies in the latrines. We had an interview in the Hotel Mille Collines with the special representative from the UN, Mr Khan, and with Rwandan ambassador in New York. We condemned the UN for not interfering, just looking… That was quite an interesting ‘Tutsi troops cut off food for survivors of moment, to see how they tried to manage…and then the massacre’, The Times, (UK) 26 April 1995 (in United Nations had to complete their figures… I said: “You English). stopped at 862”. Then they started to withdraw this figure. At the end they said there were about 300. And then the Extract: RPF military came to the Hotel Mille Collines and closed the Oxfam and Médecins Sans Frontières believe the UN has emission, saying “No more satellite connections anymore.” suppressed the scale of the killings. “Something very fishy is going on,” said Robert Maletta of Oxfam. Dr. Jacques de Milliano, MSF Holland General director (in English).

Throughout the following nights, trucks came by and we received information that people had smelt the On the same day the UN acknowledged that the very specific smell of rotting bodies. We couldn’t say Rwandan authorities had not informed the organisation so but we were almost sure that it was the Kigali govern- about the evacuation of the Kibeho camp, and declared ment that was cleaning up the bodies and dumping them an official figure of 2,000 dead at Kibeho. somewhere else. Thanks to teams gathering information all over the place we also discovered that World Vision, which was cleaning up the place, had found hundreds of bodies in the latrines and ‘The UN acknowledges that it was not informed that they didn’t want to talk about it. Everyone knew it was of the evacuation of the Kibeho camp’, AFP World Vision but no one wanted to talk about it. I suggested (France), Kigali, 25 April 1995 (in French). giving this information to certain journalists so that they could go for themselves and ask the questions. And that’s Extract: what I did with a few journalists that I trust. I told them “We had been in consultation with the government for that trucks had been seen and that there was a smell of some time concerning the evacuation but the date of 18 death. I added: “We’re not the only ones. You should go and April was decided without consulting us,” stated Boutros ask World Vision about what they found in the latrines.” I Boutros-Ghali’s representative during a press conference specifically spoke to my friend Jules, a Reuter’s journalist, in the Rwandan capital. who was very moved because he was on the Kibeho site and had seen the soldiers shooting. He had also heard this information. But World Vision didn’t want to say anything “on the record”. They refused to answer the questions of the ‘Massacre at Kibeho: UN upholds figure of 2 000 journalists who tried to investigate. In the end, World Vision dead,’ AFP (France), Geneva, 25 April 1995 (in completely denied everything and retained the same figures French). as Kigali… That’s what they told the journalists. That evening in a Kigali restaurant I was speaking about Extract: the whole thing with someone from UNHCR who was very According to Thérèse Gastaut, this figure was reached frustrated by what was happening. A journalist I hadn’t “after a more scientific evaluation” than the one initially spoken to, Sam Kiley of The Times, was at the table next to conducted and which led the UN spokesperson in Geneva to us. I think he overheard. announce a figure of 5,000 dead on Sunday morning. The figure of 2,000 is an “official figure” and “it is extremely Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, unlikely that it will be revised, since most of the victims East Africa, 1994-1995 (in French) have been buried,” stated Ms Gastaut. On Monday morning sources close to specialised institutions in Geneva indicated that the Rwandan authorities had put strong pressure 92 on UNAMIR to revise its figures downwards. dors ofwestern states. initiated an information campaignwiththeambassa- of security incidents provoked by RPA soldiers. MSF organisations, aswelljournalists,werethevictims All overthecountry,volunteersfromMSFandother The MSF team still had no access to the Kibeho site. the volunteers decide to attend. state” thenextdayatKibehosite.Afterhesitating, from theRwandanauthoritiesto“meetheadof On theeveningof26April,MSFreceivedaninvitation aid. Dutch ambassadoralsoconfirmedsuspensionofbilateral Belgian ambassadorconfirmedsuspensionofbilateralaid. - Security context degenerating - Question of UNAMIRmandate Kibeho - MSFexplaineditspreoccupationsandactionon Present: B-H-GB-F-D-Canada-CH-EU embassies Embassy breakfast this morning: things getting out ofcontrol. A limpspeech. This morning’sUSgovernmentpressconferencespokeof couple of days… continue workingwithMSFbutasksforaslow-down - Followingameetingyesterdayevening,ICRCagreesto rity” person to recount all security events. - Bernarddemandsthatforeachmissiontherebea“secu colonel who also mentioned MSF inhisthreats. - Ajournalist(name?)threatenedbyawell-connectedRPA false declarations. of theMinistryforRehabilitationwhosaidthatMSFmade - Catherine,atButare,abusedverballybyarepresentative RPA soldier (brandishing anewspaper) - Médecins du Monde: member of MDM threatened by an ched. - Cyangugu: MSF E violently forced out of a car and sear- this morning because: MSF and its declarations to the BBC”… A security meeting the RPAban:“MSFdoesn’tgetthroughbecauseweknow Catherine andGillescouldn’treachthehospitalbecauseof Extract: (in French). MSF FrancesitrepforRwanda,26April1994 the team had witnessed. the MSFFrancecommunications officerrepeatedwhat Questioned severaltimesby theMinisterforDefence, dead andbodieshiddenin thelatrines,quotingMSF. rence resumed,journalists again mentionedthousands bodies inthemassgraves.Whenpressconfe - the assembledrepresentativestocomeandcount for Defenceandstrongmanoftheregime,theninvited of inquiryintotheincident.PaulKagame,Minister announced thecreationofanindependentcommision by MSF,ofkillingthousandsdisplacedpersonsand red thattheRPAhadbeenwronglyaccused,particularly of apressconference,thePresidentRwandadecla - during thegenocideinApril1994.Then,course church where hundreds of peopleweremassacred were assembled by the authorities close to the Kibeho from internationalorganisationsandambassadors On Thursday27April,journalists,representatives had to say tous. nications officerdispatchedbyMSFFrance,toseewhatthey along withDidier, Catherine and AnneGuibert, the commu- with Paris,IdecidedtogoKibehotomorrowmorning couldn’t asktheteamtogotherealone.Afterconsulting that kindofthing,andwhathavewegottogain?”ButI us. Wewillbemanipulatedyetagain,they’reverygoodat Organisations and NGOs… Diplomatic MissionsandConsulatesatKigali,International its highregardfortheApostolicNunciature, accredited Rwandan Republictakesthisopportunitytoreaffirm The Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Gikongoro, onThursday27April1995at10:00a.m.sharp. with theHeadofStateatKibeho,inprefecture NGOs, andishonouredtoinvitethemameeting Consulates inKigali,toInternationalOrganisationsand Nunciature, toaccreditedDiplomaticMissionsand Cooperation presentsitscomplimentsattheApostolic The Rwandan Republic Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Extract: Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(inFrench). […] MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in were alittleembarrassed: “If wego,they’llcorner from thegovernment.DeMillianoandrestofus On Wednesdayeveningwereceivedthisinvitation 1995 (inFrench). Foreign AffairsandCooperation,Kigali,26April Invitation fromRwandanRepublicMinistryfor

93 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

‘Review of the situation at Kibeho’, AFP where the corpses were buried” to dig up the bodies to see (France), 27 April 1995 (in French). how few there were (there were also other negative comments about MSF – we are the only ones to speak publicly) 3. Bizimungu tried to get the displaced to come out Extract: because there were trucks and the international community ‘The truth must be made public’, declared Mr. Bizimungu to witness them coming out and to protect them. The dis- when announcing the creation of an independent com- placed basically replied and said that they would rather die mission of inquiry into the massacre. He asked the ‘great than go home and that in any case the international com- countries’ - US, Canada, Great Britain, France, Holland, munity did not protect them last time round on Saturday Germany, Belgium – and the Organisation for African Unity so there were no guarantees this time. (OAU), to each send an expert to make up the commission. 4. Bizimungu also said he was pissed off with MSF for The Special Representative of the UN Secretary General in saying that there were around 100,000 people in the hills Rwanda, Shahryar Khan, should also designate a member and that not everyone had been registered. Fortunately, the and the Rwandan government would designate another. UNHCR rep stood up and said that in fact these were UN The Commission, which should start work on 3 May at the figures not MSF and that it was true. latest, must, among other things, study the ‘context’ in It is clear that MSF is being made a scapegoat for this which the decision to close the camps for displaced Hutu whole fiasco. MSF is easier to attack than the Australian was made, the situation of the ‘militia’ present in the battalion of the UN who took pictures and gave them to camps, and how the operation unfolded. Reuters and who counted at least 4,000 dead on a ticker. On Thursday the government began an ‘immediate verifi- I have checked with all the wires and none of them have cation’ of the number of victims. After asking the soldiers picked up bitching about MSF, the idea now is to play it of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Rwanda low. I will review tomorrow how to play it. Meanwhile I am (UNAMIR) and the RPA to indicate the location of the checking that the journo know all the sources of figures. mass graves, the president ordered the immediate exhu- For a fair story and so that MSF is only quoted on the medi- mation of the bodies. cal, surgical etc. After about two hours and while the operation was still In question time, The Times of London – Sam Kiley – star- going on, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Anastase ted saying that this was all bullshit and that there were Gasana, drew up a first report: 23 bodies in one grave, 13 thousands of bodies in the latrines etc. in another, 41 somewhere else… Coming to a total of 338 Bizimungu said this was incorrect so Kiley said that he bodies buried at Kibeho. didn’t understand why MSF would tell him off the record but Nevertheless, this operation did not dispel doubts concer- not to the face of the govt – this is the same night after he ning the total number killed. UNAMIR soldiers present at attended our eye witnessing account in which team mem- the massacre and personnel from the humanitarian orga- bers specifically said they did not have such information nisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) spoke about the and could not say from MSF stats… rushed burial of several thousand bodies in the latrines, Kiley was told off the record by MSF team members to ask but no one indicated their location. When questioned, a the human rights people who had actually seen it and that young woman from MSF simply answered: “We maintain we had not. He was also sitting at the same table as a what we have said over the previous days.” group of people last night who were talking about this over a beer, including MSF and UNHCR.

‘Update on Kibeho and the big government cats’, message from Samantha Bolton, MSF International Communications officer in Kigali The President and Kagame, the Minister for Defence, to all sections, 27 April 1995 (in English). came and opened the grave next to the hospital in order to be able to say: “It’s easy to see that there Extract: aren’t many bodies”. They opened the grave where we put Today at 10.00 as you know, MSF was invited to participate the bodies on the first days. There was no point in opening to a big show down along with all the diplomats, journo it, we could have told them how many were buried there. It and NGOs, to open Kibeho camp. Bizimungu announced didn’t even contain the bodies from Saturday’s massacre… three major items. not to mention the other days. 1. An international enquiry would take place to establish what happened last Saturday – this would include reps Dr. Didier Laureillard, MSF France physician, of the UN, the OAU, France, Belgium, Holland, Canada, Gikongoro, Rwanda, from December 1994 to May 1995 Germany, the UK and the USA. (in French). 2. The government announced that there were only 300 or so bodies to be found or killed – and then proceeded to dig up 328 bodies (a commander said that this was bullshit and Kagame asked me to come and explain. I crossed the that there were graves all over the place). Bizimungu then room. The room was silent and the atmosphere was 94 said that MSF and other NGOs were “invited to indicate very aggressive. It was a little intimidating for a diplomats and everyone and we couldn’tdefend ourselves. reveal yoursources!Never!”MSF wasquotedbeforeallthe in it.”Itoldhim:“what’sall thisabout?Youshouldnever hiding? He’shidingbecauseheknowshasputhisfoot was furious.Iarrivedasking:“WherethehellisSamKiley at theMilleCollineshotel.Alljournaliststhereknew I his littlescoopfornewspaper.Iwenttolookhim that whatweweresayingwastrue.SamKileyjustwanted do so.Theycouldseethatwewerebeingveryhonestand giving outinformationbecauseweweretheonlyonesto your sources!”Theyappreciatedthefactthatwewere and another journalist said to him: “You shouldn’t reveal After thepressconferenceajournalistfromVoiceofAmerica the time not one of themopened their mouth. and shook my hand,saying: “it can’tbe easy,” etc.But at sion crewfilmedmeclose-up!Afewbravejournalistscame when itstartedtogetreallyaggressive.ARwandantelevi- latrines orelsewhere.It’suptoyoudoyourwork.”That’s But it’snotmyplacetosaywhethertheywereinthe rough count and now we don’t know where the bodies are. sands of bodies, saw them with their own eyes. We did a I repeatedthesamethingthreetimes:«theteamsawthou- we didnotknowwheretheyhadbeentransferredto.Inall, answered… thatwehadseenthousandsofbodies but that smart. SoKagameaskedmetocomeforthethirdtime.I hidden inthelatrines?”HequotedMSF,whichisn’tvery and PasteurBizimungu:«isittruethatthebodieswere bodies had been hidden in the latrines”. He asked Kagame “Someone fromMSFtoldmeyesterdayeveningthatthe American journalistfromIdon’tknowwhatnewspapersaid: maintain thefigureofthousandsdead.Justthenan I didn’tknow where that information came from and that I So I crossed the room for the second time. I told him that polate fromthat.Heaskedmetocomebackandexplain. never said. We stuck to thousands dead, we did not extra- their headsandhequotedMSFassayingthingsthatwe getting excitedandsaidthatNGOssaywhatevercomesinto and satdown.ThentheMinisterforRehabilitationstarted said inEnglish.”IrepeateditEnglishandthenwent who spokeonlyEnglishsaid:“repeatwhatyouhavejust 376 buttheMSFteamhadseenthousandsdead.Kagame official MSFversion.Thegovernmentmighthavecounted that wewerenotgoingbackonthefigure,itwas dead, thattheyhadbeenabletoestimatethenumberand to explainwhattheteamshadseen,thousandsofpeople young woman.Iclimbedupontheplatformandstarted about?”… says therearebodiesinthelatrines.What’sthisall Sam Kiley,ofTheTimesaskedthisquestion:“MSF Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, Anne Guibert, MSF Francecommunications officer on mission in Rwanda,April1995(in French). East Africa, 1994-1995 (in French) increase its aidin Butare province. MSF Belgiumannouncedtothepressthatitwill present a Report onthe events. several civilians’andasked theSecretaryGeneralto The UNSecurityCouncil condemned the‘killingof Kibeho camp. the site estimatethat there are still 2,000 people at the not degenerateintonewviolence.’Journalistspresentat Mr Boutros-Ghalisincerelyhopesthatthisstandoff‘will person. their differencesbypeacefulmeans’,statedthespokes - the medicalcentretocooperatewithaviewsettling refrain fromusingforce.Heisalsoaskingthepeoplein ‘The SecretaryGeneralaskstheRwandangovernmentto any supplies through. at KibehoandtheKigaliauthoritiesarerefusingtoallow thousand people are refusing to leave the medical centre According toaUNspokespersoninNewYork,aboutone Extract: site. against the2,000displacedpersonsstillatKibeho The UNSecretaryGeneralaskedthatnoforcebeused program. granted MSF12millionBF[290000euros]towardsthis to theirvillagesoforigin.TheBelgiangovernmenthas living conditionsofthepeoplewhohavebeenreturned travel throughoutthecommunesinordertoevaluate and thesettingupofmobileteams.Theseteamsareto health centresinthecommunesofNyakisuandRunyinya, operations intheKabutarehospital,medicaltreatment action ofMSFBelgiumisfocussingonthreeaxes:surgical to increaseitsactionintheprefectureofButare.The lation fromcampsinsouthernRwanda,MSFhasdecided Following the forced evacuation of the displaced popu- Extract: French). restraint.’ ‘Kibeho Camp:Mr.Boutros-Ghalicallsfor Press Release,27April1995(inFrench). its aidintheprovinceofButare’,MSFBelgium displaced personsatKibeho,MSFisincreasing ‘Following theforcedevacuationof AFP (France), 27April1995(in

95 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On 28 April, the MSF information officer in Rwanda alerted the sections to the urgency of creating the ‘Kibeho: Security Council condemnation six independent commission of inquiry because the evi- days after the killings,’ AFP (France), 27 April dence was rapidly disappearing. 1995 (in French).

Extract: Six days after the events, the UN Security Council has condemned Thursday’s “killing of several civilians” in the “Lobbying for independent investigation into Kibeho (southwest Rwanda) camp for displaced Hutu and killings and recommendations Report’ message has asked Boutros Boutros-Ghali, the Secretary General, from Agnes Wagenaar to all directors, to present a Report on the events “as soon as possible.” programme managers and coordinators in In a declaration derived from a consensus after many Rwanda, 28 April 1995 (in English). long days of consultation in New York, the 15 member countries of the Security Council declared themselves Extract: “heartened” by the decision of the Rwandan government Dear all, to conduct “without delay” a complete investigation of 1. I know that it’s agreed that lobbying at the moment these events and to bring those responsible to justice… will be for access, and that only next week with the report According to diplomats, finalising the declaration was in our hands we will start lobbying for an independent considerably slowed by the presence on the Security investigation. However, it would strengthen our position Council of a representative of the Rwandan government, if we would ask ASAP (right now already) for such an which hold a non-permanent seat on the Council… In investigation, because the process of changing evidence recent days the UN has been trying to ease the situa- and influencing witnesses is already in full swing. I think tion with the Rwandan authorities, whose armed forces that if we will ask for it only next week that would look (controlled by the Tutsi minority) have been accused of kind of naïve, as if we didn’t think about this, and/or not being responsible for the killings at the Kibeho camp last worried about it. Saturday. The Security Council declaration does not say 2. Hanna Nolan sent a first outline for the report, inclu- who is responsible for “killing many civilians.” ding one page of (draft) recommendations. Did you see/ discuss them already? What are your proposals?

The Rwandan Minister for Defence accuses NGOs of supporting militia in displaced persons camps. Back in Europe, MSF Holland volunteers who were present at Kibeho make statements to the international press. V8

‘Kibeho Massacre: Paul Kagame accuses NGOs of supporting Hutu militia,’ AFP (France), 27 April 1995 (in French). ‘MSF: Humanitarian aid is superfluous as long as the guilty have not been brought to justice,’ Extract: Vers l’Avenir (Belgium), 30 April 1995 (in “We sent in soldiers to empty the camps and return French). the refugees to their homes,” asserts Mr Kagame, “but Interahamwe (Hutu militia) who wanted to prevent the Extract: civilians from leaving launched attacks on the soldiers Last Saturday’s massacre at the Kibeho refugee camp and forced the defence cordon. Our soldiers had to res- cost the lives of at least 2,000 people, according to pond so they opened fire, it was a case of self defence”, independent evaluations, and cannot be passed off as an he stressed. ‘incident’, stated Mr de Milliano, director of Médecins Sans Paul Kagame added that the problem for the new Rwandan Frontières, in the course of a press conference at Schipol authorities is that “the camps are providing shelter for following his return from Rwanda. According to Mr de armed men and the NGOs refuse to accept that by feeding Milliano, there had been ‘a rise in terror’ in the camp from them, they are supporting the militia (Hutu) in this way.” the previous Tuesday. The massacre did not take place In response to a question about the accusations formu- out of the blue. Everyone knew something was going to lated by the NGOs concerning his government’s policy of happen, stated the director of MSF. repression, Paul Kagame declared: “While we’re trying to A few days before the massacre, MSF received indications solve considerable problems, the NGOs are spending their that things could get “out of hand.” MSF sounded the time criticising the government. Those people have no alarm, without getting any reaction, he said. 96 moral right to judge us.” On Thursday, 21 refugees were killed. As MSF entered red Mr de Milliano. reached thepointwherewehavetostopaid,”decla- weak whoarereturningtotheirvillages,thenwehave safety forthepeopleandthatwecannolongerhelp apparent that there is absolutely no guarantee of personal for seriouscrimesarebroughttojustice.“Ifitbecomes no effect,sayMSFdirectors,untilthepeopleresponsible Central Africancountries.Thehumanitarianaidwillhave ther thereisany point inprovidinghumanitarian aid to ported by2,500localstaff,isbeginningtowonderwhe- MSF, which has more than 100 people in Rwanda, sup- committing the massacre,” according toMSF. do athingtostopthe2,500governmentsoldiers from 200 UNpeacekeepingtroopspresentatKibehocouldn’t for vengeancethatdrivesthepartiesinconflict.“The people andequipmenttoconfronttheviolencelust organisation doesnothavesufficientmeansintermsof with the spiral of violence in Rwanda. The international 300 victims.AccordingtoMSF,theUNisunabledeal the Rwandanauthoritiesclaimtherewerenomorethan Nations has put forward a figure of 2,000 dead, whereas to 5,000bodiesbeforeabandoningtheircount.TheUnited Australian UnitedNationspeacekeepingforcecountedup estimates that at least 5,000 people were massacred. The Milliano. Intheabsenceofabelievablelowerfigure,MSF cuated correctly and without violence, pointed out Mr de camp aswellothercampsintheregionwouldbeeva- The RwandangovernmenthadpromisedthattheKibeho and fortwo nights, hestated. all, the soldiers continued to shoot for 5 hours one day 16:30 and17:00butwasresumedshortlyafter17:00.In and whistling.Theshootingwasinterruptedbetween gees foralmostanhourandahalf,allthewhilesinging Milliano, thesoldierscontinuedtoshootHuturefu- army (aTutsimajority)openedfire.AccordingtoMrde the KibehocamponSaturdayaboutnoon,Rwandan and underneath wasavoicesayingthatit terribleand showed mewith mymouthopenandnothing comingout only thingtheyhadtransmitted wasthissilence.They spoken foratleast20minutes beforethecameraand before thecamera.Thatnight, IwatchedtheTV—had because Iwouldstarttocry and Ididn’twanttodothat cuts yourair.Soduringtheinterview, Ihadtostoptalking shooting andsomepeoplearestillfightingtosavelives…It would puttheminthehole.You’rethereandtheyarestill some hocus-pocusjustbeforetheydiedandthenthenurses treat thembuttherewasnothingtotreat.Thewoundeddid people weredying.TheAustraliansoldierstryingto went uptothemountainonUNcompoundwhere great detail,Itoldthemthattherewasamomentwhenwe and thepoliticalcontext—moreMSFmessagesay.In telling younow.AndJacqueswouldanswerthecontextual eyewitness accountsoIwouldtellthemexactlywhatam conference. WehadagreedthatIwoulddoan long afterwearrivedhome,theofficesetupapress I didalotofinterviewswiththeDutchpress.Not were still subjected to violence. Kibeho. Displacedpersonsreturningtotheirvillages use forceagainst the 2,000displaced persons still at The RwandangovernmentpromisedtheUNnotto campaign” against Rwanda. government, “todenouncetheinternationalcommunity’s Sunday morning,organisedbyassociationsclosetothe and CNN.ThereistobeademonstrationinKigalion (the officialradio)particularlydenouncedRFI,theBBC but also“certaininternationalmedia.”RadioRwanda The Minister “denounced the campaigns of some NGOs,” the government, amounted to some300dead. in themassacreatKibehocampwhich,accordingto fact thatMSF-France”hadspokenofthousandsvictims on RadioRwandaSundaymorning.He“deploredthe Jacques Bihozogara,RwandanMinisterforRehabilitation, governments” andarespreadingdisinformation,stated humanitarian workersareactuallyworkingfortheirown Some organisationsworkinginRwanda“disguisedas Extract: returned tothe UyesectornearButare(southwest) on massacres were killedwithstonesandbatons whenthey Fourteen displacedpersons who fledfromtheKibeho General, atapress conference inKigalionSunday… announced MrAldoAjello,special envoyoftheUNSecretary agreement, thegovernmentwill notuseforceatKibeho,” camp since the massacre on 22 April. “We have reachedan force tomovethedisplacedHutushelteringinKibeho The RwandangovernmenthaspromisedtheUNnottouse not abletofullyfacethat situation. even themostexperiencedpeopleinhumanitarianaidwere Extract: attacked MSF France on RadioRwanda. On 30 April, the Rwandan Minister for Rehabilitation AFP (France), 30 April1995(in French). returning close to Butare, according to UNHCR,’ ‘Fourteen displacedpersonskilledThursdayon France,’ ‘The governmentdenouncestheactionofMSF Wouter Van Empelen, MSFHolland programme AFP (France),30April1995(inFrench). manager (in English).

97 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

Thursday, indicated the United Nations High Commissioner communes?), how can we condense currently existing for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sunday. They were stoned and activities while adhering strictly to MSF principles and beaten to death by their former neighbours, said UNHCR. getting our actions to reflect our ideas? Another hundred displaced persons had to flee the sector • There is a general problem throughout the country of pro- to protect their lives. viding for the vital needs of the population while satisfying According to the UN, another two thousand displaced the government’s interest in using MSF to rebuild its health persons who returned to their communes last week were system without always respecting our principles. There are arrested. Their former neighbours accuse them of having nevertheless zones where the population is more vulnerable taken part in the 1994 genocide and they have been and our activities should focus on these regions, in so far thrown into gaol… as our presence can be an embarrassment (testimony). In Jacques Bihozagara, Minister for Rehabilitation, accused the Kibungo prefecture, for example, MSF E, regardless of MSF France on Radio Rwanda (official radio) on Sunday the result of their nutrition survey, was forced to open a morning of practising disinformation. “Some organisa- nutrition program, which did not correspond to needs. tions disguised as humanitarian workers are actually wor- • What is the range of activity for MSF in Rwanda? Even in king for their own governments,” he said, aiming mainly limited activities, we can still find a role that is consistent at France and Belgium. with our principles: referring prisoners, access to treatment for vulnerable populations, temoignage. • We must take a united stand in order to have credibility with the government and to have an impact on it: we must have cohesion between the different sections (same On 1 May, the MSF heads of mission and headquarters policy of condensing activities) on the ground and at desk of the different sections reviewed the space available level, not isolating ourselves as MSF, opening up to other for MSF to continue assisting the Rwandan populations. NGOs or organisations (ICRC in particular) in order to MSF Belgium announced a plan of action in the com- build constructive pressure. The importance of presenting munal ‘cachots’ and another in a prison for women and ourselves to the government as MSF and not MSF national. children. • Criticism of UN: their policy has so far been a failure. Three questions: how will they behave in the future? How will the international investigation go and their role in it? How are they going to ratify established facts? Special Points Minutes of the meeting between heads of • BUTARE (Ivan): not too many problems, still some dif- mission and HQ representatives from MSF ficulty accessing hospitals and checking casualties, some Belgium, France, Holland, Switzerland and sabotage attempts. Unease among expat teams concerning Spain, Kigali, 1 May 1995 (in French). the reception reserved for people leaving hospital to return to their home commune. Unease also in relation to local Extract: personnel who refuse to treat ‘genocidaires.’ It is appa- General Debate rently impossible for expats to access communes. Until the • The result of the re-evaluation during the meeting of all emergency work at Butare is finished, debates concerning MSF- F teams: more Press Releases, renewed contact with the presence and meaning of MSF work are suspended. government to explain who we are, to try to discover what • PRISONS (Ivan, Bernard): ICRC and UN human rights they really expect from us, the necessity of demonstrating have asked MSF-B to make a medical commitment to our independence in all choices (programs) we make now the communal ‘cachots’ in Butare prefecture. We do not or in the future. have a mandate for this type of intervention (Philippe), • What is patently obvious on the part of the government unlike ICRC, and must beware of not sanctioning ‘torture’ is the lack of contacts to whom we can explain what we do centres. Bernard pointed out that at the last inter-section and who we are. This enables the government to use infor- meeting, MSF work in relation to prisons concerned only mation as a means of intoxication or propaganda in order medical references and transportation for prisoners. Ivan to put pressure via MSF on our respective governments. said that no signs of torture had so far been reported and The objective for the next two weeks will be to identify that if this happens it would call into question their work these contacts in the course of our visits to ministers and in ‘cachots’. to find out whether we can get the MSF message across. • MSF-B has another project for prisons: in partnership • It is important to strongly emphasise the history of with Unicef and UNAMIR, they will support the medical MSF in Rwanda (Samantha is working on this in Nairobi), aspect of a new prison for already imprisoned women and especially our presence during the genocide. children < 14 years. • It is now time to return to the missions and go through them with a fine-tooth comb in order to identify the actions that are vital and essential for the survival of the populations, and which do not compromise MSF with the The MSF information officer circulated the first draft government. What priority actions must we maintain (pri- of the Kibeho Report to the Rwanda coordinators and 98 soner referrals? populations displaced/returned to their programme managers of the different sections. particularly criticised Médecins Sans Frontières. community had seized on the events at Kibeho and streets ofKigaliagainstthewayinternational That afternoon,500Rwandansdemonstratedinthe yet. Will comeASAP. All feedbackwelcome. and protection in the communes, could not be finalised Chapter 5,especiallytheinformationaboutmedicalcare communes. Which probably won’t bethecase. ditches etc.inaverywideareaaroundthecampsand if they would do this systematically in all graves, latrines, nite number.Butthiswouldcomeclosetothetruthonly will probablydigupbodiesagainandtrytogetadefi- Holland, Germany,UN,OrganisationofAfricanUnity.They from Rwandangovernment,USA,Canada,France,Belgium, which 9representativeshavetobefound(before3May) 4. Thereisgoingtobethisindependentenquiry,for communes? on theirland?Howwillbethesecuritysituationin find thatotherpeoplehave moved intheirhouseand Further: whoknowswhatwillhappentodisplaced and medical care. dehydration, andcontinuinglackofwater,food,shelter pling, macheting,stoning,hitting,illnesses,exhaustion, to giveexactfigures.Peoplediedfromshooting,tram- The MSF point of view is that it is and will be impossible (338? 5,160?10,000?) – asifthis makes thedifference. the bigquestionisturningaroundhowmanypeopledied 3. Somethingaboutnumbers:asyouprobablyallknow gency desk, Amsterdam. before 8 May.YoucansendthemtomeatMSF-H,emer- additions, correctionsetc.areverywelcome,ifpossible told mealreadywhattheyhadseen,heard,knew.But 2. For this eyewitness report many MSF-team members version, which hopefully will beready next week. version. Part of it will be included in a second, external Kibeho events.Forthemomentitisonlyaninternal 1. Herewiththedraftversionofmyreportabout Extract: About 500people demonstratedinKigali onMonday Extract: May 1995(in English). and desks of MSF-F/B/H/S/CH/International, 1 International, Kigalitotheteams,coordinators Agnes Wagenaar,informationofficerMSF ‘Internal ReportontheKibehomassacre’, the international community,’ AFP ‘Kibeho Camp:demonstration inKigaliagainst May 1995(in French). (France), 1 Kibeho camp,” added UNAMIR soldiers. cal proofofhundredsandnot thousandsofdeadatthe “The effectonaninternational levelwillbethephysi- their report. along theroadlinkingKibeho toButare,”theywrotein could hear the continuous sound of vehicle traffic all access tothesiteswherebodiesweredugup.“We Although presentatthecamp,UNAMIRsoldiershadno tims and transportthem in trucksto other sites. RPA availedofthenighttodigupbodiestheirvic - But intheirdailyreport,UNAMIRsoldiersclaimthatthe attacking them… after militiahidingamongthem‘provoked’thesoldiersby its armyclaimthatabout300displacedHutuwerekilled thousand peoplekilledatKibeho.Thegovernmentand UNAMIR, whosesoldiersandobserversreportedseveral The purposeoftheoperationisparticularlyto‘discredit’ April. truth abouttherealnumberkilledinmassacreon22 the bodiesfromKibehocampinordertodisguise lists inKigalionMondayofdiggingupandgettingrid (RPA) inaconfidentialreportthatwasshowntojourna- UNAMIR soldiersareaccusingtheRwandanPatrioticArmy Extract: number of peoplekilled in themassacre on 22April. bodies intheKibehocampordertodisguisereal that the UN troops accused the RPA of digging up the by the Australian UN peacekeeping force, reported Agence FrancePresse,whichhadaccesstodailyreports protested before theBelgian embassy. they criedbeforetheFrenchembassy,havingpreviously the fewjournalistspresent.“Mitterrandmurderer,” go home,”shoutedthemostaggressivedemonstratorsat military observersarrivedatasimilarestimate.“Whites Nations AssistanceMissiontoRwanda(UNAMIR),whose They werealsolivelyintheircriticismoftheUnited of themassacreandwhoreportedseveralthousandkilled. whose representativeswerepresentatKibehoontheday French humanitarianassociationMédecinsSansFrontières, government estimate of 338 dead. They criticised the of the number massacred that is in excess of the official media, especiallyFrenchofpublishingareport The mostlyyoungdemonstratorsaccusedtheforeign Kibeho camp, commented an AFP journalist. international communityhasfixedontheeventsin against foreignersinRwandaandthemannerwhich French). massacre,’ hiding thebodiesofvictimsKibeho ‘Rwandan army accused of digging up and AFP (France),1May1995(in

99 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On 2 May, UNAMIR denied being the source of this According to a UNAMIR estimate, there could still be information, without, however, denying the truth of it. 1,700 displaced persons taking refuge in a school. More than 500 people have left since last Thursday. Living in deplorable sanitary conditions with no food and only rainwater, the displaced persons have received minimum humanitarian assistance authorised by the Rwandan ‘UNAMIR, denies being the source of the government. information without denying its truth,’ AFP According to Mr Ismaël Diallo, spokesperson for UNAMIR, (France), Kigali, 1 May 1995 (in French). only medical service personnel were authorised to provide the most urgent treatment. Extract: The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) was On Tuesday UNAMIR denied being the source of the unable to distribute food to the displaced persons, but the information to the effect that bodies had been exhumed organisation Médecins Sans Frontières was again admitted and removed from the displaced persons camp at Kibeho to the camp, reports a humanitarian source. (southwest), but did not deny the truth of the information The refugees have so far refused to go home because they itself. are afraid of being arrested or killed by the population Journalists, including one from AFP, gained access on or the soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army (RPA) in Monday to a confidential report by UNAMIR troops stating retaliation for the massacre last year of at least 500,000 that the soldiers of the RPA were digging up the bodies of people, mainly Tutsi and moderate Hutu. On 22 April the victims of the massacre on 22 April in order to hide a massacre at Kibeho left 300 dead according to the the real number of deaths and discredit UNAMIR, whose Rwandan government, and at least 2,000 according to observers counted several thousand victims. UNAMIR. The latest official UNAMIR estimate reported about 2,000 dead. The Rwandan government however estimated that about 300 people were killed after the army was ‘provoked’ by Hutu extremists hiding among the displaced persons. “UNAMIR’s position concerning the recent events at On 4 May, the Médecins Sans Frontières International Kibeho was duly explained in earlier Press releases and Council set about drawing conclusions from the recent by other official means. This position remains unchan- events and defining the framework for the organisa- ged,” added UNAMIR in a brief statement to the press on tion’s forthcoming actions and positions on Rwanda. Tuesday evening. The special representative of the UN Secretary General in Kigali, Mr Shahryar Khan, indicated on Monday that before adopting any new position he was waiting for the results of the international commission of inquiry orde- Minutes from the MSF International Council red by Pasteur Bizimungu, the President of Rwanda, last meeting in Geneva, 4 May 1995 (in French). Thursday. He was hoping the commission would begin work on 3 May. Extract: In order to renew contact with the government and to stop speaking via Press Releases, loudspeakers, denunciations etc., Philippe [Biberson, President of MSF France] wanted to meet with Christine, the executive secretary to Groups of displaced persons continue to leave the the Minister for Rehabilitation. A review of the situation Kibeho camp, newly open to the MSF team. was conducted with the government in order to specify what MSF is about and how we function. We needed to highlight for the Minister for Rehabilitation, with whom no agreements have yet been signed, the specific nature of MSF in our missions. The Kibeho crisis only confirmed ‘168 departures from the Kibeho camp on what had been happening for a long time. What will our Tuesday, according to UNAMIR,’ AFP (France), next step forward be? How will it translate into actions 2 May 1995 (in French). and positions? We must avoid making things worse. There is still room for us in Rwanda but we have to Extract: give ourselves the means of going there and refocusing One hundred and sixty-eight people left the Kibeho (sou- on our objectives, which we consider to be essential. thwest Rwanda) displaced persons camp to return to their These objectives must be defined jointly. Philippe thinks home communes, announced UNAMIR at Kigali. Monday, we should maintain strong political relations with this 78 ‘displaced’ Hutu (ethnic majority) left the camp where government without losing sight of our limits. We must more than 1,000 people are still holding out, including extend our range of relations to other influential circles a number of children considered to be hostages of the in order to have a more equitable analysis. We are facing 100 extremist Hutu present in the camp. a government in a state of siege with a very well-defined actions in Rwandan prisons. During thesamemeeting, a discussionwasheldonMSF with the authorities. situation in this country is to have more political contacts things worseandouronlymeansofretainingaworking remain asinvulnerablepossible.Wemustavoidmaking that we must now target our actions carefully in order to the radicalisationofregimebeganlastFebruaryand (de Milliano,President of MSF Holland) pointed out that fication foreverythingthatishappeningnow…Jacques and verytoughpolicy.Itisusingthegenocideasajusti- reminds us of the demand madeto MSFB by the govern- Eric [Goemaere, ExecutiveDirectorof MSF Belgium] gnage. relation tothedetentionconditions, exceptbytemoi- the prisonstherewillbeno meanstoapplypressurein organisation andhasnomandate, becomesinvolvedin Philippe thinksthatifMSF, which isnotaninternational completely confused aboutthis problematic situation. includes concentrationcamps,deathcamps.ICRCisalso We findourselvesconfrontedwithasituationthat this work? Should MSFasanorganisationbecomemoreinvolvedin political decision: The needsareenormousbutitisimperativetomake a Kigali prison, to becaredfor medically by MSF - There is talk of removing children under the age 14 from or electricity. ‘cachots’, whichareasortofshedwithoutwindows,water - ICRCaskedMSFBtoinvolveitselfinthecommunal Moreover: berate and coordinated. and itisdifficulttobelievethatthissystemnotdeli- concentration camp?Theseprisonsareveritablehospices How canMSFcontributetothehealthservicesofa the arrival of newprisoners. ward. Moreover,themanagerofprisonhasannounced building an annex to the hospital as an incarceration charge ofhealthmattersintheprisons.Thereistalk recognises thatitdoesn’thavethemedicalmeanstotake rate isveryhigh.WearecollaboratingwithICRC,which whose generalstateofhealthisalarming.Themortality Kigali hospital, 1/3 of which are occupied by prisoners designed for700.MSFFhastakenchargeof130bedsin prison, whichcurrentlyholds7,000people,butwas several actions.ThereisadoctorpresentintheKigali for severalmonths.MSFFandMSFBhaveundertaken The prison problem has been a preoccupation for MSF Extract: meeting in Geneva, 4May 1995 (inFrench). Minutes fromtheMSFInternationalCouncil visiting the Kibeho site. the internationalcommission ofinquirybeganworkby the sitetoreturntheircommunes. Themembersof On 9May,the320displaced personsstillatKibeholeft displaced persons. provoked byextremistarmedelementshidingamongthe thousands ofvictims.Thearmyfurtherdeclaresthatitwas and humanitarian sources estimated the figure at several about 300displacedpersonswerekilled,whereasotherUN that areopentoquestion.Thegovernmentestimates vide areportontheeventsatKibeho22April,subjects Their taskwillbetoestablishthecircumstancesandpro - define their mode ofaction on Monday. taking partinthecommission,whosememberswereto Great Britain, France, Holland,Germany,Belgium) are government andsevenforeigncountries(USA,Canada, The UN,theOrganisationforAfricanUnity,Rwandan continued tobeemptiedlittlebylittle,reportedUNAMIR… met for the first time in Kigali on Monday, while the camp into themassacreofdisplacedHutuinKibehocamp The members oftheinternational commission ofinquiry the Kibeho massacre met forthefirst time. On 8May,theindependentcommissionofinquiryinto national laws. resembles amilitarydictatorshipthatrecognisesnointer- getting tainted.Wearefacedwithagovernmentthat We mustremainextremelyvigilantinordertoavoid government that is asking us to intervene in the ‘cachots’. Eric pointed out that it is ICRC and not the Rwandan no legal means atourdisposal. soon aswedo,mustexpecttobeexpelled.Wehave means offightingthesystemwillbebyspeakingout.As a healthservicetherewillchangenothingandouronly torture centres,isatotallydifferentmatter.Developing prison inKigali,butworkingthe‘cachots’,veritable However, itisonethingforanMSFdoctortoworkinthe they feel they cannot cope. prisons butwantsustointerveneinthe‘cachots’,where While inBrussels,ICRCaskedMSFtowithdrawfromthe age of14 at Gitarama. Proposition refused. ment tobuildadetentioncentreforchildrenunderthe Extract: 1995 (inFrench). massacre sets to work,’ AFP ‘The commission investigating the Kibeho (France), 8 May 101 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

participate in your investigation procedure, I would be extremely grateful if you could provide me with: ‘The last displaced Hutus have left the Kibeho - The definitive make-up of the commission and the list camp,’ AFP (France), 9 May 1995 (in French). of its members. - The texts constituting the group and its powers of inves- Extract: tigation. The 320-odd displaced Hutu in the Kibeho camp left on - The commission’s general method of gathering and Tuesday to return to their communes, reported the civilian processing information, as well as that of each particular spokesperson for UNAMIR, Ismaël Diallo… member. The displaced persons, living in deplorable conditions, - The form and authority of the conclusions of your inves- had so far refused to leave because they were afraid of tigation. being arrested or killed by the soldiers of the Rwandan Patriotic Army in retaliation for the massacre last year of at least 500,000 people, mainly Tutsi and opposing Hutu. The UNAMIR spokesperson further stated that the international commission of inquiry, created at the request of Fax from Dominique Boutriau, MSF Belgium the Rwandan government, went to the Kibeho camp on programme manager to MSF France and MSF Tuesday and remained there for four hours… The members Holland programme managers, 11 May 1995 (in of the commission listened to various witnesses, particu- English). larly UNAMIR soldiers who were present at the camp on 22 April, and took some samples. According to Mr Diallo, no Extract: exhumations were conducted… 1. This is the written report of Albert Brizio cc Kibeho; I The commission, whose work is scheduled to last two have underlined the things that are not included in Agnes weeks, should establish the circumstances surrounding report. the disputed events of 22 April, and the number of people 2. CC that report , I am still waiting for more infos CC killed. Kabutare 3. CC procedure, we have discussion amongst us in Brussel concerning this report; the conclusions will be discussed at the General Directors next teleconference (when?). They are: MSF provided the commission of inquiry with the testi- - ok for Agnes report but it should be completed with infos monies of its volunteers that were gathered in the field from Albert and infos from Kabutare. by the communication and information officers and, on - Ok for transmitting it to the 3 concerned Rwandese their return to Europe, by the legal department. On 16 ministries May these factual elements were also communicated to - Ok for transmitting it to human right organisation (UN, the three Rwandan ministers concerned. It was proving Human Rights Watch, FIDH, RCN…) to be very difficult to gather information at Butare - Ok for transmission to embassies from survivors of the massacre. - MSFB would not see any inconvenient in allowing the MSF staff that are directly concerned with the events to talk directly to the commission; of course if the expatriates accept; on a confidential basis and out of the presence of the Rwandese members of the commission. Moreover Letter from Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF being at the place of the members of the commission it legal adviser, to Mr Foucault-Brisset, member of would be hard to understand why MSF personnel cannot the Kibeho commission of inquiry, 9 May 1995 collaborate as direct witness ( if the persons accept). (in French).

Extract: Dear Mr Brisset, Congratulations on being nominated as an investigator in We knew very well that the Rwandan government the independent commission of inquiry into the events at was going to deny it. We had to be able to provide Kibeho. figures, to evaluate the number of people killed, but The Médecins Sans Frontières team present at the time also to know the circumstances and for that the survivors of of these tragic events has drafted a precise report of the Kibeho that were arriving at Butare were a mine of informa- facts as it observed them. This report is scheduled to be tion. We therefore told the Butare team, via Dominique transmitted to the relevant Rwandan authorities in the Boutriau, the Desk manager, to collect data concerning the near future. I am very pleased that a commission was wounded people at the hospital. Dominique said: “We’ll set appointed to shed light on the tragic events that have up a system in Butare to interview people, find out how they caused a public debate that is prejudicial to all. were wounded, how many were wounded, compare this with 102 In order to determine how and when we may be able to that etc.” As it turned out, none of that was ever done investigation. he askedtobeheardandonlyinthelastdaysof sion listened to the MSF France coordinator only after vors of the tragedy from coming forward. The commis- Rehabilitation, whowaslikelytodiscouragethesurvi- executive secretaryoftheRwandanMinistryfor of inquirywascompromisedbythepresence The independenceoftheinternationalcommission includes a member of thegovernment cannot be impartial. they couldn’t write what they wanted to. A commission that whole process of drafting the report and that as a result Rwandan MinistryforRehabilitation wascontrollingthe told me“offtherecord”thatexecutivesecretaryof the veryend.Later,oneofmemberscommission to getmesaytherewereInterahamweinthecamptill ned withaCanadianandanEnglishman.Theyreallytried are familiarwiththeFrenchpolicyonRwanda…”Heretur - him: “Iwouldratheryoucamealittlemoreofficially.You sion. Firsthecametoseemealoneandinterview me. Itold prosecutor forCréteil,whowasamemberofthecommis - Kibeho eventstothecommission.Igaveitpublic about itinEuropeanddecidedtogivetheMSFreporton should not stay. The safety aspect is clear.” They talked their testimony,andthenextdayreturninplane.They volunteers totestify,theyshouldreturnRwanda,make hospitalised at Butare. Kibeho andButare,butnoinformationfromthesurvivors elements providedbythelogisticspeoplewhoworkedat testimonies frompeoplewhowereatKibehoandafew Kibeho passingthroughButare.Thereportismadeupof Belgium missionhadnophysicalaccess to thesurvivorsof into trucksandtakenbacktothecommunes…TheMSF them tothehospitaleither.Theywereterrorised,loaded bidden totreattheminthistransitcentre.Wecouldn’ttake along theroadarrivedinaterriblestate.ButMSFwasfor- sit centreatButarewherepeoplewhohadbeenshotall diately takenbacktotheircommunes”…Therewasatran- treat anyone at the hospital because the people are imme- volunteers onthegroundwhosaid“inanycase,wecan’t no meaningandwhichcontradictedthewordsof ment fromthehospitalthatwascompletelyunusable,had ning the wounded at Butare hospital… I got a little docu- because weneverevenmanagedtogetthestatisticsconcer- Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995(inFrench). […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, then coordinator in Nairobi. IhadsaidtotheDesk:“Iftheyask Kibeho volunteers had gone back to Europe or The investigators arrived very late. Most of the MSF Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF Legal Adviser (in French).

a political consensus. refore abotchedjobandanyconclusionhadtobebasedon have done to us.” The commission’s investigation was the- nisers stillwanttocontinuedominateusafterallthey stating thegovernment’sfavouriteargument:“Theex-colo- risk thatshemightabandontheCommissionpubliclywhile she could.Iftheothermembersopposedher,theyran denominator andshepulledtheminimumdownaslow sion, theconsensushadtobebasedonlowestcommon consensus, andbecauseshewasamemberofthecommis- mission hadnodecision-makingmechanismsotherthana vely hamstringingthecommission.Andbecausecom- diately interruptedwith:“Where’stheproof?”etc.,effecti- was unfavourabletotheRwandangovernment,sheimme- a foreignerontheCommissionaskedaboutanythingthat government wasboththeaccusedandjudge.Assoonas official representative of the Rwandan government. So the supposed tobeindependentbutoneofthememberswasan nies, werejustignored.ThisInternationalCommissionwas say, thetestimoniesofZambiansoldiers,ourtestimo- anything thatdidn’tfitinwithwhattheyhaddecidedto they weregoingtosayhadalreadybeenfinalised.And they heard the witnesses, that the grand outlines of what got wasthattheyhadfinisheddraftingthereportbefore them thatwewantedtobeheard.Buttheimpression nesses presentonthesite.Wehadtocallthemandtell and they still hadn’t contacted us although we had 15 wit- agree on any report coming out of thisinvestigation. had agreedbeforetheinvestigation that both parties should people weredelegated from Kigaliasacommittee and they report apersonfromtheMinistry ofHealth-andsomeother had no choice. We had little time plus before publishing the investigation thatyouwouldlikeinthesesituations.Butwe said, “I do admit that our investigation is not the type of the massivebodiesthatyouwerethinking.”Butthenhe and yes,theremighthavebeensinglebodiesbutnot said, “Ithinkthatwerandomlycovered60%ofthelatrines people.” Iasked:“didyoulookintothelatrines?”Andhe could notgointothefieldandseeiftheyhadburied mandated towrite,sowecouldnotcovereverything.We investigators — I think 6 were real investigators who were We werewith12peopleofwhomonlyafewofficial specific date. Itwasadayortwobefore that date tion. Thecommissionwastogiveitsreportona I was visiting Rwanda at the time of the investiga- “well, youhavetounderstandacoupleofthings. him howheconductedtheinvestigation.Hesaid: I spokeunofficiallytoaDutchinvestigator.asked Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF Franceprogramme Wouter VanEmpelen, MSF Holland programme manager (in English). manager (in French) 103 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On 17 May, the Rwanda programme managers of the MSF/B different MSF sections decided to draft a second, more Has some hesitations on the form of the report and on it complete report on the events at Kibeho. usage: - It feels that the witness reports sent to the commission were incomplete: lacking in data and omitting some events. For example the field phoned Dominique on the ‘Minutes of the international meeting of the 22nd and told her that they had received patients on the Rwanda programme managers’, Paris, 17 May 21st and 22nd in Butare injured by machete. They were 1995 (in English). told that soldiers had forced displaced to attack other displaced with machetes. These events were not mentio- Extract: ned in the Report, perhaps in the heat on the moment Two eyewitness reports on the events in Kibeho, along certain things were forgotten. It is clear that the witness with Etienne’s report, were submitted to the independent Reports are very emotional, which can be both positive commission investigating the events that occurred on and negative. April 22nd and 23rd in the IDP camp of Kibeho. This report 1. It does not feel that it is MSF’s role to go into a detailed was compiled by Hanna and Agnes of MSF Holland. analysis. It is not sure that there is much to gain from MSF/F distributing such a report. It feels that it would be just Feels that it is important to compile a second, more com- has effective, if not more so, to talk to people directly. plete report on the events in Kibeho; both for internal and It does not see the point in a long introduction as those external use. This report would include an introduction, concerned already know the context. They are more in the former report and a conclusion. It feels that it is favour of a neutral, short introduction mentioning the important to have an introduction in order to describe the impunity of the perpetrators of the genocide, the fact background to the present situation e.g. mentioning that that the justice system is not working in Rwanda and the the government perceived the camps as a military threat. situation of the refugees in Zaire. It is anxious that the It would also be useful to include why and how the report report should not ‘point the finger’ at anyone (either the was written. government or the UN)… MSF/F wants to have such a document for future use inter- Decisions: nally when memories become blurred. Likewise the report 1) A second report will be compiled by Hanna and Agnes. would be a useful document as a support and follow up This Report will include: to oral interviews. Many people (journalists, postgraduate - a background on the situation leading up to the present students etc.) have already contacted MSF concerning the day situation; events in Kibeho, and more will do so after the commis- - The two eye witness reports; sion announces its conclusions on Friday in Kigali. The - Etienne’s report; written report would be an essential tool in order to avoid - A conclusion; misinterpretations. - Recommendations/demands/appeal, including the: Further external use might occur in the event that com- • Right to humanitarian care for displaced persons mission’s conclusions were weak; MSF could then send the • Right to protection for the displaced; report to the Rwandan government, UN bodies and the • Right to medical treatment for the wounded; independent commission. MSF/F would like all sections to • Lack of justice following the genocide i.e. the right to work together on this report which MSF/F will make avai- be judged. lable to all those interested both internally and externally. 2) The second report will be sent to the head of the United MSF/H Nations Security Council and to commander Toussignant Agrees with MSF/F. along with a cover letter underlining the fact that they It feels that is important to send the report to the com- did not fulfil their mandate during the events at Kibeho mission and others, whatever the result of the commis- i.e. they did not protect the displaced persons. Françoise sion, as MSF is an important eye-witness. will write the cover letter.

MSF/SP Is also in favour of circulating a second report, although if the commission’s conclusions are in line with ours, then circulation need to be done via a major press campaign. During this meeting the MSF France programme mana- Felt that the question of impunity could perhaps be men- ger questioned the role of MSF Belgium and MSF tioned in the introduction rather than in the conclusion, Switzerland in the hospitals at Butare and Byumba but if the others felt otherwise they had no objections to where the authorities and personnel refused to accept including it in the conclusion or appeal. certain patients. Felt it is important to send the report to UNAMIR as in later years, when their efficiency will inevitably be questioned, it is important that there be a record of official 104 complaints. Belgium in theconstruction of a prison for children. The debatealsocoveredthepossibleroleofMSF access to medical care. objectives inordertoreachthosepeoplewhodonothave their activities by 50% and were trying to redefine their Tutsi aretreated.MSFCHrepliedthattheywerereducing question) howMSFCHcouldworkinByumbawhereonly MSFF alsomentionedthatitdidnotunderstand(open answered that they had no proof. in a hospital that refused to treat certain patients. MSFB MSFF questioned(openquestion)howMSFBcouldwork coming back. to treattheIDPsfromKibehoandleft-theyareslowly since December.Thelocalstaffatthehospitalrefused litation etc.) There have been some problems in Butare MSFB isworkingin20healthcentresRwanda(rehabi- Extract: who willbetransferred fromKigaliprison. Minorsofthis The centrewill haveacapacityfor100children under14 wire). is takingcareofthefencing, whichwillnotbebarbed taking careofthewatersupply andthelatrines(UNAMIR lation willhaveaccesstothe healthposttoo).Theyare run the health post inside the compound (the local popu- destined tobecomeachildren’sprisoninwhichtheywill MSFB is rehabilitating an old detention centre, which is 10 fold. presence intheprisons,ICRChasmultipliedits grams intheprisons(seeminutesof10/03/95).Sinceits MSFB explainedonceagaintheirreasonsforopeningpro - justice. that theywilldiethere,ratherthantobringthem authors ofgenocideintoprisonseemstobeinthehope and interiorwhosereasonsforputtingthesuspected b) they cooperate with the ministry of justice, defence, 10,000 (Gitarama); a) the mortality in the prisons is still as high as 10 per present in the prisonsas: but isnowevenmoreconcernedbytheirdecisiontostay MSFF disagreedwiththelatter’sdecisioninDecember, Likewise MSFFquestionedMSFB’spresenceintheprisons. Extract: 1995 (inEnglish). Rwanda programme managers’, Paris,17May ‘Minutes oftheinternationalmeeting 1995 (inEnglish). Rwanda programme managers’, Paris,17May ‘Minutes oftheinternationalmeeting enable them todefine the activity of MSFinRwanda. tion andheagainaskedforanagreementthatwould of populations is an inherent part of a doctor’s voca- MSF Francerespondedthatbearingwitnesstothefate its humanitarianvocation.On23May,thePresidentof He addedthatMSFFranceshouldstickrigorouslyto concerning healthconditionsintheGitaramaprison. raised bytheMSFreportdatingfromendofMarch Mission inRwandathathewasawareoftheproblems Social IntegrationinformedtheMSFFranceHeadof On thesameday,MinisterforRehabilitationand to bear for other projects. This openedupthedebateandenabledustobringpressure tion tointervene.Everybodyhadreviewtheirprograms. cated becausetheauthoritieshadaskedanotherorganisa- a commitmenttotheprison.Inenditwasverycompli- internal discussionwithMSFBelgiumtogetthemmake this questionfrombeingmadepublic.Therewaslotsof do anenormousamountof“damagecontrol”toprevent providing water.Therestisnotourresponsibility.”Ihadto why MSFwasn’tdoingmore.Belgiumreplied:“Weare be putondrips.Thejournalistsheardaboutitandwondered They hadstoppedeating,tosuchadegreethatthey for the children medically. Many of them had been raped. this project. MSF/SP, MSF/H,MSF/F,objectedtoMSF/B’sdecisionon prison get dealt withquickly. 10 lawyerstoassurethatthefilesofchildreninthis genocide canbeaccelerated.Unicefhasagreedtosupply The casesofthosechildreninprisonforcrimesotherthan for the moment. genocide be tried for murder, and so the trials are blocked does not agree that the suspected perpetrators of the exist: theycanonlybetriedformurder.Thegovernment not betriedinRwandaforgenocide,thecrimedoes always easy.Thesecondproblemisthatanindividualcan- responsible fortheminorhastobelocatedwhichisnot is responsible for the minor pays a penalty: but the adult age arenotresponsibleunderRwandanlaw,theadultwho only. There were real problems in terms of catering children. MSFBelgiumwasinchargeofsanitation In Kigaliprisonaspecialcentrewasopenedfor Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, East Africa, 1994-1995 (inFrench) 105 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

[the head of mission] recent letter to you concerning the patients we receive from Gitarama prison. Letter from the Minister for Rehabilitation and I wish to add that [the head of mission] is a very expe- Social Integration to the MSF France coordinator, rienced coordinator and that he acts in perfect liaison 17 May 1995 (in French). with, and enjoys the full confidence of, our headquarters. He has total latitude concerning the manner in which Extract: he represents MSF and we have asked him to finalise, We cannot, however, tolerate anyone using this situation as quickly as possible, an explicit agreement with your to interfere in matters that are the responsibility of the Ministry in order to define the framework of our activity government. More specifically, we want MSF France to in Rwanda. stick strictly to its humanitarian and medical vocation and to abstain from all political considerations in its dia- gnoses, as in its public and unofficial declarations.

On 20 May 1995, the International Commission of Inquiry made public its Report on the Kibeho massacre, a report it had submitted to the Rwandan government Letter from the President of MSF France to the two days earlier. This report concludes that certain Rwandan Minister for Rehabilitation and Social members of RPA were ‘out of control’, and it requested Integration, 23 May 1995 (in French). the Rwandan government to take better measures in the future to deal with such events. While announcing Extract: that the number of victims was without doubt greater Dear Minister, than the initially announced figure, the commission The MSF Head of Mission in Rwanda, […], forwarded to my declares itself incapable of evaluating the exact num- office the letter you addressed to him on 17 May 1995. I ber because of ‘timing and logistical constraints.’ would like to thank you and to give you a rapid response Lastly, the report concludes that the responsibility for with regard to the humanitarian and medical character of the tragedy should be divided evenly between the RPA, MSF’s work… UNAMIR and aid organisations, which were accused of Our testimony concerning the fate of populations we having contributed to the problem by keeping the dis- are trying to help is meant to inform the public and our placed populations in the camps. donors – on whom we depend for financial independence – about the nature of our actions. It is an inherent part of our vocation as doctors that while treating the ill we also name the diseases from which they suffer. Our testimony is factual and presents human suffering as the result ‘Report of the independent international of more of less temporary crisis situations and indicates commission of inquiry on the events at Kibeho, the persons or populations responsible for the crises. We April 1995’, Kigali, 18 May 1995 (in English). systematically avoid all sordid or fatalistic considerations, as well as all forms of paternalism with regard to the Extract: populations we help. CONCLUSIONS In exceptional circumstances, MSF denounces or adopts a 1. In the opinion of the Independent International stance with regard to certain situations. Commission of Inquiry, the tragedy of Kibeho neither We thus denounced the genocide of the Tutsi in Rwanda in resulted from a planned action by Rwandan authorities to May 94 and demanded that those responsible be brought kill a certain group of people, nor was it an accident that to justice. Again in relation to the genocide, we withdrew could not have been prevented. our teams from the camps for Rwandan refugees in Zaire 2. The Commission recognizes the legitimate interests of and Tanzania in protest against the same instigators of the Rwandan Government and the international community genocide using international solidarity in order to streng- to have the displaced persons camps closed as quickly as then their hold on the populations in question. These possible, both for reasons of national security and in order positions had no directly political character. They aimed to remove an important obstacle to the country’s efforts to at preventing aid from contributing to an acceptance of recover from the devastating effects of last year’s genocide. the fate reserved for the victims, or from making it worse. 3. The Commission recognizes the efforts made by UN We are aware of the fact that our testimony can be used by Special Representative, UNAMIR, the government of others to further their own ends, in the same way as our Rwanda and other organisations to keep the situation at presence and activity can be misrepresented and used in Kibeho under control. a partisan fashion. We constantly endeavour to limit such 4. The Commission regrets that UN Agencies and NGOs undesirable effects as much as possible. were not able to contribute more efficiently to the speedy To this end, we strive to develop a relationship that is evacuation of IDPs from the camp. constructive and respectful of the total sovereignty of 5. There is sufficient reliable evidence to establish that, 106 the government that receives us. That was the purpose of during the events at Kibeho camp between the 18th and embassies at Kigali. Journalists were informed. of thecountriesdonatingaidtoRwanda,andforeign members of the investigation commission, authorities the eventsatKibehoviadifferentsectionsto On 25May1995,MSFdistributeditsownreporton lities. and organisationswithlimitedmandatesresponsibi- held hostageorboggeddownbyoneseveralagencies to makesurethatinthefutureanentireoperationisnot review its chain-of-command and itsoperationprocedures 4. TheCommissioncallsontheUnitedNationssystemto nal reconciliation and reconstruction. Rwandan Republicinitseffortstoachievejustice,natio- community to continue encouraging andassisting the 3. TheCommissionrecommendstotheinternational law to situations ofsocial tension andemergency. gnized frameworkofhumanrightsandhumanitarian to reactadequatelyandwithintheinternationallyreco- ving thecapabilityofRwandanStateandlocalauthorities 2. Inthefuture,highpriorityshouldbegiventoimpro- buted tothe event. armed forcesandanyotherfactorswhichmayhavecontri- tial investigation of individual responsibilities within its of the camps, as well as a thorough, prompt and impar- occurred inthepreparationandhandlingofclosure authorities to carry out ananalysis of mistakes which national level.TheCommissioncallsupontheRwandan Rwandan Governmenttocarryoutaninvestigationatthe 1. TheCommissionwelcomestheinitiativetakenby RECOMMENDATIONS elements among theIDPs themselves. tion oflifeandseriousbodilyharm, committed byarmed serious humanrightsabuses,includingarbitrarydepriva- the 23rdApril1995,unarmedIDPsweresubjectedto during theeventsatKibehocampbetween18thand 6. Thereissufficientreliableevidencetoestablishthat, RPA military personnel. tion ofhumanrightsandhumanitarianlawcommittedby trary deprivationoflifeandseriousbodilyharminviola- the 23rdApril1995,unarmedIDPsweresubjectedtoarbi- • Surgical data, Kabutare hospital, Butare • Twodirect eyewitness accounts written by MSF staff Annexes Events leading up tothemassacre MSF’s position and recommendations Context Extract: English). Kibeho camp,April1995’,25May1995(in Médecins SansFrontières,‘Reportoneventsin and therespect of international law. 3. Monitoractively thehumanrightssituation inRwanda involved in thekillings 2. Investigatethemassacre atKibehoandtrythose 1. Bring to justice the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. To the government of Rwanda: to bring to justicetheauthors of thegenocide: not yet proven able to established the responsibilities and considering thefactthatinternationalcommunityhas responsibility oftheperpetratorsthismassacre,and has notprovenabletoclearlyestablishthefactsnor pendent commissionofinquiryontheeventsKibeho Considering thatthereportofinternationalinde - MSF’s RECOMMENDATIONS tings from the crowds along theroads. during theirjourneyhomefromstonethrowingandbea - various requestofMSF,UNAMIRfailedtoprotectIDPs to thewoundedandhamperingtheirwork.Despite work ofmedicalaidagenciesbydenyingthemaccess 5. TheRPA,duringthemilitaryoperation,obstructed the events by UNAMIR officers. release publiclytheaccurateinformationcollectedduring step to stop the killings. Moreover,UNAMIR failed to tection ofdisplacedpersonsbynottakinganysignificant and troops. UNAMIR failed to fulfil their mandate of pro- 4. ThesekillingsoccurredinfrontofUNAMIRbuildings children. criminately killedthousandsofunarmedmen,womenand the crowdwithlightandheavyweapons,RPAindis- camp. Byopeningfireonseveraloccasionsdirectlyinto against the IDPson 22 and 23 April 1995, in Kibeho 3. TheRPAusedforceinadisproportionatemanner pressure for campclosure. of such deprivation as an acceptable and lawful method to access toindispensableservices. MSF challengestheuse to takemeasuresensurethatthoseinneedwouldhave vival (water,food,shelter,medicalcare).UNAMIRfailed persons toreceivetheservicesindispensablefortheirsur- the RPAdeniedbasicrightsofinternallydisplaced 2. Since18April1995,duringtheclosureofcamps, return of theIDPs. with theMinistryofHealth,tocreateconditionfor communes ofIDPs,MSFcontributedincloseco-operation ment. Byre-establishingmedicalservicesinthehome between MSF,UNAMIR/UNREOandtheRwandesegovern- communes was never part of the duty of MSF, as agreed convince theIDPsandtoorganisetheirreturnhome population (food,water,shelter,medicalfacilities).To to provideservicesindispensableforthesurvivalof MSF andotherNGOsasagreedbythegovernmentwasonly the genocide in the camps. In those camps, the role of arrested orkilledandtotheinfluenceofauthors due tothefearofdisplacedthattheywouldbe government in‘OperationRetour.’Thisoperationfailed the responsibilityofUNAMIR/UNREOandRwandese camps. Thepeacefulclosureofthecampswasunder to theinfluenceofperpetratorsgenocidein threat tothesecurityofpopulationRwandadue 1. TheIDPcampofGikongoroprefectureposeaclear 107 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

To the international community: In a word, the commission ‘transforms’ the event, a mas- 1. Provide assistance for the re-establishment of the rule sacre of several thousand civilians, into: of law in Rwanda. - A military slip up (number of victims not specified but 2. Bring to justice the perpetrators of the 1994 genocide. more than 300) that does not involve government res- 3. Ensure the proper implementation of UNAMIR’s man- ponsibility; date. - Responsibility for the conditions that produced the event is shared between all the players (RPA, displaced persons, UN and NGOs). The political aim (Kigali and embassies) is clear: to prevent this event from calling into question the policies of Jean-Hervé Bradol, ‘Practical considerations the different western states involved in the region. concerning the distribution of the Report and While lobbying on the prison situation and Kibeho events, personal impressions’, (MSF France Rwanda the MINIREAB subjected MSF-F to considerable pressure to programme manager), 25 May 1995 (in French). silence us on public positions but also in terms of silent advocacy. Extract: Several different options in this context: Target: donor countries, including the EU, UN agencies, a. Continue to take aggressive public positions at the risk embassies in Kigali, members of the Commission of of being expelled from Rwanda. Inquiry. We are trying to avoid provoking an official res- I do not consider this to be a valid option because the ponse by the government (too easy, all they have to do to political context (UN and state desire to hush up the seriously discredit us is refer to the Commission’s report) affair) leaves little chance of obtaining good media 1. Distribution to the members of the investigating com- coverage (contact Stephen Smith, Libération, France) and mission. Each section distributes the report to the mem- credibility in the eyes of the public for an MSF position bers of the commission in its country in Europe. MSF Kigali that conflicts with the conclusions of an international handles those present in Rwanda. MSF-F handles those commission of inquiry. Moreover, the Rwandan govern- who are neither at Kigali nor in Europe. ment is sufficiently clever not to expel us immediately 2. Distribution to donor countries, each section handling but to await an excuse some months down the road. We its own country, MSF-F handling all others by means of its would then find it very difficult to prove that our problems offices. MSF-B distributes report to EU. MSF-CH distributes (impossibility of continuing to work in Rwanda) are linked report to ICRC, UNHCR, and UN Commission for Human to our denunciation of Kibeho. Besides, we already made Rights in Geneva. our position clear at the time of the events and when 3. Distribution (UN, embassies, ICRC) in Kigali is entirely Kagame visited Kibeho. the responsibility of the MSF coordinators in Kigali. It is b. Stick to press declarations made at the time of the up to them to decide how to proceed. events and the factual testimonies submitted to the 4. Françoise Saulnier (trip to US on 2 June) to submit commission. The danger is obvious: one day this Kibeho Report to UN and to seek complementary information question will return in one way or another. If we want to (e.g.: UNAMIR Report on Kibeho). refute the claims of the commission, we will need more 5. We will not organise an active communication cam- solid documents than Press Releases and purely factual paign on the subject for the general public. We will brief testimonies without any formal conclusions. journalists orally while asking them not to mention MSF c. Complete the MSF testimonies with a conclusion concer- specifically as the source. We accept the fact that the ning the real nature of the events and provide targeted Report cannot be kept totally ‘secret’ and that there will distribution. Avoid engaging a public debate with either necessarily be leaks. the government or the commission for the moment. The 6. The report can be distributed as soon as received by reason is not that we are afraid of the reactions of the each of the players. It comprises the factual part submit- commission or the government but that we do not believe ted in Kigali on Tuesday 16 May, the context (page 0) and we are given good media reception (small coverage and the position of MSF and its recommendations (18 and 19) attacks on our credibility) and therefore have little impact Personal Impressions (JHB, MSF-F): on the public. The Rwandan government is becoming more radical, but did it have any other option? The massive aid from The retained option is option C. the international community to the camps in Zaire and It leaves us confronted with contradictions: Tanzania to the Hutu extremists and the limited aid to • Big MSF operations in progress, non-urgent; Rwanda comprise two major elements in the response to • Considerable violence brought to bear on the population this question. (prison, Kibeho, disappearances in the communes); MSF clearly assumes responsibility for the denunciation • Very limited impact of MSF positions testifying to this of the Kibeho massacre to the press at the time of the situation. events. The conclusions of the commission of inquiry: Conclusion: when option C has been chosen, the basic - Favour the government’s explanation; problem remains intact! 108 - Accuse us (an obstacle to closing the camps). The best tactical option at this stage is definitely not to Nations Security CouncilandtheUNAMIR Commander On 26May,MSF informedthePresident of theUnited in theregion lose allmeaning. tions 1to5,otherwiseweriskseeingthepresenceofMSF Tanzania. Wehavetoprovidearapidresponseforques - 5. ThecosmeticoperationbytheleadersinZaireand MSF-F); denounce theviolenceapplied(ACF,MINIREABletterto with exclusionallagenciesthatpubliclyorunofficially its policyofrepression‘transparently’whilethreatening 4. TheRwandangovernment’sgreatskillindeveloping not abletofindapreciseangleofattackcounterthis; Rwanda runupagainsttherealpolitikofstatesandweare 3. ourexplanationsconcerningthenegativeevolutionof from the other; 2 campsandgivesrisetothreats(ofdeathsometimes) where every position is systematically used by one of the account ofactsviolenceinsideRwanda,inacontext 2. Ourinabilitytodocumentandprovideanaccurate pendent andimpartial humanitarian action; of spaceforpolitical moderates and therefore for inde- 1. Thedominationofextremistsinthe2camps,lack protecting populations) are created by: Our difficulties(lackoflegitimacy,littlecontributionto ded byUNHCR). community (example:6milliondollarsforMobutuprovi- extremists andtheongoingcop-outofinternational to fightthethreatofgenociderepresentedbyHutu lence committedinsideRwandasupposedlyinaneffort on whenwereproachthe Rwandan government with vio- Without thesepreconditionswehavenogroundtostand refugee camps). for Rwanda,defactosupportthegenocidairesin international community(nojustice,littlematerialaid • Ifwesystematicallydenouncetheattitudeof the genocidein Zaire andTanzania (MSF-B ,H, CH ?); • Weourselvesdonotcollaboratewiththeorganisersof respectable political representatives); enabling themtopresentthemselvesalloveragainas initiatives (denialsofthegenocideandpoliticalfacelifts the genocideandtheirabilitytotakemilitaryorpolitical population oftheregion continues tobetheleaders of • We state on every occasion that the main threat for the massive violence inRwanda will provelegitimate only if: Taking theoffensiveinprotectingpopulationagainst rents in the region. by themurderousactionsof2extremistpoliticalcur- tion forthepopulationsthataresystematicallytargeted and willnotcontributetoincreasingthelevelofprotec- acute medical crisis andthereforeemergencyprograms) bogged downinmaterialoperations(intheabsenceofan If weareunabletoconductthisactivity,willget period, the precise details remaining tobedecided. attack mustbeourpriorityoptionforthe‘post-Kibeho’ counter-attack thereportofcommission.Butcounter- Kibeho massacre. of itsconcernsaboutUNAMIR’sattitudeduringthe result were severely ill-treated by angrycrowds. displaced ontheir wayhometothecommunes, whoasa - UNAMIRfailedingiving adequate protectiontothe the massacre. to ensure MSF access to the wounded people the days after - UNAMIRfailedtoprotectMSF’s workinthehospitaland and medical facilities. pensable fortheirsurvival:water,food,shelter,sanitary steps toallowaccessofdisplacedthoseservicesindis - - From18thto22ndApril,UNAMIRdidnottakeadequate targets of theRPAsoldiers. knowledge that thesedisplaced would becomedefenceless sufficient protectiontothesevulnerablegroups,infull they had received medical treatment, UNAMIR did not give - Byputtingwoundeddisplacedbackintothecrowdafter the eyes of UNAMIRsoldiers. thousands ofdisplacedwereshotbytheRPArightbefore displaced while on Saturday22ndand Sunday 23rdApril - UNAMIRfailedtofulfilitsmandateofprotection of RPAtroops during theweeks preceding themassacre. increasing its presence, when it witnessed the increase - UNAMIRfailedtotakeadequatemeasures,suchas protection. camps, namelyanon-violentreturnconductedunderfull tation oftheagreeduponstrategyforemptyingIDPs - UNAMIRfailedtoimposeupontheRPAimplemen of protection in Kibeho: MSF believesthatUNAMIRhasnotcarriedoutitsmandate witnesses to themassacres. these eventschallengethoseofthedirectUNandNGO national commissionofenquiryappointedtoinvestigate not beenreleased.Theconclusions of anadhocinter- The reportwritten by theUNCommander at Kibehohas either the victims or the public. with its role of observation and protection with regards to Moreover, bydoingsoUNAMIRhasnotbeenconsistent between April22ndand23rdhavebeenkeptsecret. reports establishingthefactsoneventsthatoccurred was useless and powerless to those victims. The military posedly protectedbyUNtroops.TheUNAMIRcontingent killing ofthousandsunarmedciviliansthatweresup- attitude oftheUNsoldiersthatsilentlywitnessed at Kibeho.Thechangeofmandatedidnotthe passive attitudewhenfacetowiththemassacres One yearafterthegenocide,UNAMIRagaintooksame MSF’s concerns: Extract: Commander, 26 May1995(inEnglish). Major GeneralG.CToussignant,UNAMIR President oftheUNSecurityCouncilandto last weekofApril95’,LetterfromMSFtothe massacres thattookplaceinKibehoduringthe ‘UNAMIR’s conductandattitudeduringthe 109 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

MSF requests the following measure to be taken by the UN. The situation had not improved inside the Gitarama - The report of the UNAMIR commandant of Kibeho should prison and a large number of injured and sick priso- be publicly released. ners continued to arrive at the hospital every day. - The Security Council should take a clear stand on the With agreement from head office, the MSF France team concept of operational self-defence included in the man- in Rwanda updated the “health diagnostic of priso- date of UNAMIR II. ners from the Gitarama prison” written in March and decided to make it public, having first sent it to the Rwandan administration and the embassies. All MSF sections present in Rwanda signed it. On 29 June, MSF France issued a press release deploring the situation in On 22 June, at the end of a seminar in Kigali with the Gitarama prison. Rwandan journalists, the MSF communications officer for East Africa was threatened by one of the partici- pants in the presence of Rwandan ministers who did not react. ‘Catastrophic death rate among prisoners in the Gitarama prison in Rwanda,’ MSF France Press Release, 29 June 1995 (in French).

‘Weekly report’ from Samantha Bolton, MSF Extract: International Kigali to all coordinators, Over a nine month period, one in eight people impriso- communication departments, 23 June 1995 (in ned in Gitarama has died: 902 prisoners out of the 7,000 English). incarcerated from September 1994 to May 1995 awaiting judgment have died. This excessive death rate can be Extract: explained by the catastrophic detention conditions in this KIBEHO still hurts prison, which was initially built to house 400 prisoners. At the end of the seminar- four days on responsible Each prisoner has less than half a square metre in which to journalism and human rights and the right to freedom live. In May, among those referred to the Kabgayi hospital of expression, one of the journalists came up to me and where Médecins Sans Frontières is working, 38% suffered asked me where I could be found during the day and then from traumas and 41% from foot sores. said that one of his colleagues really wanted to meet me. It is urgent that priority be given to the transfer of He then asked me if I had ever had a grenade in my face Gitarama prisoners to the new detention centres that the and then proceeded to say that it was better if he didn’t government is planning to build. Any further admissions introduce me to his colleague because “he wants to put to the Gitarama prison will only contribute to increasing a grenade in your face and in the face of MSF for what an already alarming death rate. The enlargement works you said on Kibeho.” I replied that I welcomed verbal currently underway are insufficient; even if the number of grenades, as MSF is always open to discussion, but that I prisoners were not increased, on completion of the works would prefer no weaponry grenades. each prisoner would still only have less than one square metre of living space. Médecins Sans Frontières takes note of the changes announced by the government to increase the country’s prison capacity. These measures should be applied with It took place in front of the ministers. No one reac- aid from the international community as rapidly as posted. They all smiled a little and it was clear that he sible to ensure that overcrowding and excessive mortality wouldn’t have done it unless everyone thought the does not spread to other prisons in Rwanda. same way as he did. I was a little shaken. I called Paris and The blocking of legal processes by the national courts and they told me to get out fast and keep a low profile for a the international tribunal contributes to creating inhuman while. Every time we made a declaration, my name was on detention conditions. To date, no trials have taken place all the press releases. I was fairly well known in Kigali. When to judge crimes of genocide. April 1994 saw the beginning I got to the airport, I was told: “it’s you who gives all the of a systematic extermination process of Rwandan Tutsi interviews, it’s you who’s always telling lies about the and government opponents. According to estimates, the government, etc.” They were very well informed. It was genocide in Rwanda led to the death of between 500,000 more or less a threat and it was particularly linked to and 1 million people. Kibeho.

Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, East Africa, 1994-1995 (in French)

110 Tension remains atahighpitchinRwanda wherethe consideration. the countryisanotherimportant factortobetakeninto to Rwanda’snewgovernment forthereconstructionof The limitednatureoftheinternational financialaidgiven ners are the presumedauthors of genocide. increase to47,000persons. The majorityofthesepriso- Rwandan’s prisonpopulation(prisonsand‘cachots’)could not madeasinglejudgmentforthecrimeofgenocide. really begunitswork.Todate,theRwandancourtshave set uptotrytheauthorsofgenocidehasnotyet A year after the genocide, the international tribunal to carry out military training inthe Kivu regionofZaire. ried outthegenocidehave,inalltranquillity,continued in these arms deliveries. The military and militia that car- nent member of the Security Council, could be implicated the townsofUvira,BukavuandGoma).France,aperma - deliveries ofarmstotheirsanctuaryinZaire(Kivuregion; authors ofthegenocidecontinuedtoregularlyreceive United NationsSecurityCouncilon17May1994,the Despite the embargoon supply of arms voted by the arrest them. Rwanda up to mid-June 1994, took no measures to try and gees. The French army, which controlled the southeast of community withinassistanceprogramsforRwandanrefu- they benefitedfromaidprovidedbytheinternational the genocidefoundrefugeinTanzaniaandZairewhere majority ofmilitarypersonnelandmilitiaresponsiblefor Belgium, havebeensubjecttojudicialmeasures.Thelarge number ofcountries.Onlythreepersons,inCanadaand have beenfreelytravellingaroundandresidinginalarge Since April1994,thoseresponsibleforthegenocide that between 500,000 to1million persons were killed. these eventsasgenocideinJune1994.Estimatesindicate regime. TheUnitedNationsSecurityCouncilqualified policy targetingRwandanTutsiandopponentstothe government implemented a systematic extermination From April1994tomid-July1994,theformerRwandan Rwanda since April 1994. prison must be placed within the context of events in The diseasepictureoftheaccusedpersonsinGitarama Introduction: data aresubject to acertain degree ofimprecision. Despite theeffortsmadeduringtheircollection,these lity data is the Gitarama prison management authority. May 1995. The source of the demographic and morta- health data covering the period from September 1994 to changes inthesituationonbasisofdemographicand which remainsofgreatconcern.Thereportdescribesthe general stateofhealth of prisonersintheGitaramaprison March concerningresponsibilityforthemedicalcareand This diagnosisofthesituationfollowsreport made in Cover: Extract: prisoners, Rwanda,’ June1995, (in French). situation: thehealthstatusofGitarama Médecins SansFrontières,‘Diagnosisofthe these prisonersawaitingtrial, bemadeavailabletothem. that an acceptable living space,sovital for the survival of international communitypresent inRwandatoensure Rwandan governmentandby therepresentativesof Everything mustbedoneas rapidlyaspossiblebythe be anticipated and prevented. threat forotherprisonsinRwanda.Thisshouldandmust overpopulation/excessive deathratesituationremainsa the blockingoflegalprocess,developmentan Due tothelargesizeofRwanda’sprisonpopulationand catastrophic death rateof this population. to increasetheirlivingspaceandrapidlyreducethe prisoners bethefirsttobenefitfromtransfersinorder capacity. It is absolutely essential that the Gitarama centres. Thiswillincreasethecountry’sprisonpopulation authorities aimingattheopeningofprovisionaldetention Discussions arecurrentlyunderwayamongtheRwandan death rate. simply contributetoincreasingthealreadycatastrophic into theprison.Anynewadmissionsprisonwill does notrepresentanopportunitytoadmitnewprisoners persons. Itisessentialthatthisincreasedsurfacearea the prisonpopulationremainsatalevelofaround7,000 be providedbytheendofworksonconditionthat insufficient. Lessthanonesquaremetreperpersonwill the surfaceareabuttoanextentthatisstilllargely The enlargementworkscurrentlyunderwaywillincrease half a square metre per person). living space is given to the prisoners (currently less than change this situation unless an acceptable amount of and theprovisionofmedical care willdonothing to Improvements madeintheprovisionofwaterandfood, of health in Gitarama prison. element thathasclearlycontributedtothedeterioration for the crime of genocide has yet been heard) is another nal courtsandtheinternationaltribunal(todate,notrial The blocking of thelegalprocesson the levelofnatio- lation that results in inhuman conditions of confinement. This catastrophicdeathrateisduetoextremeoverpopu- ting oneout of eight. 902 personsdiedoutofthe7,000imprisoned,constitu- prison remainsextremelyhigh:overaninemonthperiod, The deathrateofprisonersawaitingtrialinGitarama Conclusion: prisoners took place… the contextwithinwhicharrestanddetentionofthese rence contributestoamorecompleteunderstandingof died intheGitaramaprison.Areminderoftheiroccur- September 1994toMay1995,oneoutofeightprisoners Nevertheless, theseeventsdonotexplainthefactfrom measures to protectthe displaced. during thismassacreand,despiteitsmandate,tookno ber ofdefencelessdisplacedpersons.UNAMIRwaspresent massacre (men,womenandchildren)ofaverylargenum- retain a certain influence, resulted in the indiscriminate prefecture, an area where the Interahamwe continued to of April1995displacedpersons’campsintheGikongoro forceful closurebytheRwandanPatrioticArmyatend 111 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

‘Catastrophic death rate in Gitarama prison: MSF demands the immediate transfer of As the situation inside the prisons was not impro- prisoners to other detention centres,’ Press ving whatsoever, in June, and 900 deaths later, we Release, 5 July 1995, issued by MSF Belgium, prepared a report. We told ourselves that it was out MSF International, MSF Holland, MSF UK (in of the question that it not be made public. And if they French - in English). pretend not to understand our problems, well, in that case, we’ll just have to be more explicit. Once again, it’s a report Extract: signed by the five sections. Over the past nine months, one in every eight prisoners has died in Gitarama prison, Rwanda, according to an MSF Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme report released in Nairobi on Wednesday 5th July, 1995. manager (in French) The prison was built for 400 but there are now over 7,000 prisoners awaiting judgment. 902 prisoners died between September 1994 and May 1995. The Rwandan government has announced that seven more detention centres will be opened over the next few It was a great medical report covering the living weeks. MSF supports these plans, as it is essential that the conditions, the state of health and the death rate of Gitarama prisoners be the first to be transferred to these the prisoners. Everything was included, it was per- new centres. fect. I thought it was an excellent example of what MSF The high death rate at Gitarama prison is caused by catas- could do, incorporating a humanitarian and medical trophic conditions, mainly overcrowding. Each prisoner approach that also took the political context into considera- has less than half a square metre of living space. Most tion. And I think this is what led to them being thrown out have no choice but to stand day and night. of the country. Among the referrals to Kabgayi hospital, where MSF is working, 38% are suffering from trauma wounds, and 41% Dr. Dominique Boutriau, MSF Belgium programme from rotting feet caused by standing on the wet and dirty manager (in French) ground, often resulting in amputation. The surgical unit is so overcrowded that prisoners now have to share beds. Kabgayi medical coordinator Dr. Arnaud Veisse said “The conditions in the prison are so bad that we are seeing an increase in serious wounds and burst eardrums from It was a subject that everyone was discussing, but beatings. If an epidemic breaks out there is no saying in reality, not very much data had been collected. how many will die – too many are dying already. Gitarama There was an excellent medical coordinator there, prisoners must be transferred to the new centres as soon Arnaud, who had previously worked in French prisons, and a as possible.” very good team. From my point of view, this was one of the A prison extension is currently being built for Gitarama. best reports that MSF had produced. It was very medical in This will only improve conditions if some of the prisoners nature, but also highly political, and this had an enormous are transferred to other centres. It is crucial that the effect. I remember that it was put together very fast and extension not be filled with new detainees, as it would that it was very well done. only increase the already alarming mortality rate. To prevent such high death rates and overpopulation in Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, prisons and detention centres in Rwanda, the internatio- East Africa, 1994-1995 (in French) nal community must support the Rwandan government to quickly set up the new centres and to transfer the prisoners. The inhuman conditions in the Rwandan prisons are aggravated by the stalemate of the judiciary process at On 5 and 6 July, the report on the prisons was distribu- the level of the national courts and the international tri- ted by all MSF sections during press conferences given bunal. To this day, no trial has taken place to judge the in Nairobi, Paris and Brussels. MSF condemned the perpetrators of the genocide in which between 500,000 confinement conditions in Gitarama prison, stated that and one million Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed the enlargement works underway were insufficient, and between April and July 1994. appealed to the international community to support the Rwandan government’s initiative to build new prisons. A shorter version of the report, written in English by MSF’s London Desk, was distributed to the press. I avoided criticising the government during the press conference. I said that it should be helped in its efforts to provide more space in prisons. We took the 112 government’s line, asking the international community to Rwanda. these newcentres”emphasised[…],MSFcoordinatorfor the Gitaramaprisonersbefirsttotransferred few weeks.MSFbacksthisproject.Itisessentialthat additional detention centres will be openedover the next “The Rwandangovernmenthasannouncedthatseven organisation in Nairobi… explained theMédecinsSansFrontièreshumanitarian where 7,000Hutuaccusedofgenocideareimprisoned, overcrowded Gitarama prison, in the centre of Rwanda, Around 1,000prisonershavediedsinceSeptemberinthe Extract: visit the Rwandan prisons. Over thefollowingdays,journalistsflockedtoKigali how horrific the situation was. myself in Englishand making the journalists understand just I wasveryconcernedbythedifficultieshadinexpressing believe that there was an interest in the subject. Personally, gave telephoneinterviewstoradiostations.Thisledme It wasfairlytechnical.DuringtheentirefollowingdayI tions suchas:canyoutellusagainwhathavewritten. information rather than specific details. They asked ques- the reactionofjournalists.Theywerelookingforgeneral factory. creating atemporarycorrectionalcentreinanabandoned son system’saccommodationcapacityby,forexample, eye-witnessing didnotaffectitsgoalofincreasingthepri- cussions withICRCtoestablishastrategyassurethatour give itfurthermeanstoachievethisend.Wehadlongdis- Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(inFrench). Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994toJune 1995 […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in a certaindriftbetweenwhatwewantedtosayand conference were particularly impassioned. There was I didnotfeelthatthediscussionsduringpress Le Soir ‘A thousandprisonersdieinGitaramaprison,’ Dr. Arnaud Veisse, MSFFrance physician, (Belgium), 6 July1995(in French). (in French). denied. They had to managethe situation. cut andaccompaniedbymedical datathatitcouldnotbe mats… Theauthoritieswereannoyed butitwasallsoclear the world, leading to reactions from authorities and diplo- that scene. It had an immediate press impact throughout closed itbehindus.Therearesomeextraordinaryphotosof by the Interahamwes. They opened the main gate and that muchcontrolovertheprison.The inside wascontrolled ther. Itwasfairlyeasybecausetheauthoritiesdidnothave Everyone usedthereportbecauseitwasverywellputtoge - even photographsonthefrontpageofNewYorkTimes. A large number of articles were published and there were the justicesystem,whichlostitspersonnelduringmas Most areaccusedofgenocide.Nonehaveyetbeentriedas currently imprisonedinatrociousconditionsRwanda. (ICRC), whichvisitsprisoners,around50,000personsare According totheInternationalCommitteeof the RedCross of 30,000‘summary executions.’ the seriousviolationsofhumanrightsbyRPF,accused in September,afterhavingpublishedareportdetailing of theRPFinJuly1994.UNHCRinterruptedrepatriations the Gomaregion(easternZaire)sincemilitaryvictory resume therepatriationofHutuhavingsoughtrefugein Commissioner forRefugees(UNHCR)wasplanningto In addition,onThursday,theUnitedNationsHigh sacres andthesubsequentexodus,isnot yet operational. to receive 400 prisonersisthe worst, states MSF. sons, allofwhichareovercrowded,thatGitarama,built is noplacetositletaloneliedown.OfallRwandanpri- the decayingrubbishcoveringprisonyardwherethere interminable periodsofhavingtostandinthewaterand infected limbsamputated.Footinfectionsarecausedby Certain prisoners taken to the hospital have had gangrene- NON-OPERATIONAL JUSTICE September have died;theothers died inprison. 25% oftheapproximately700prisonershospitalisedsince the prisonersoccasionallyinflictononeanother.Nearly monia, etc.),infectedwounds,blowsandbeatingsthat one ineightprisonersisduetosickness(dysentery,pneu- Wednesday 5JulyinParis.Thisterrifyingdeathrateof ten byMédecinsSansFrontières(MSF)anddistributedon accused ofgenocideareimprisoned,statesareportwrit- centre of the country where 7,000 Hutu (ethnic majority) just one overcrowded prison – Gitarama – located in the Since September1994,athousandprisonershavediedin Extract: visit totheprisonbyjournalistsandphotographers. press conference, we went to Kigali to organise a Immediately afterthereleaseofreportand Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, Le Monde(France), 7 July 1995 (inFrench). ‘Terrifying deathrateinRwandanprisons,’ East Africa, 1994-1995 (in French) -

113 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

On his return from the press conference in Nairobi, the On 27 July 1995, MSF Holland published its second MSF France coordinator was summoned by the autho- report on the repatriation of Rwandan refugees from rities to sign the administrative registration of the the camps in Zaire. Part of this report concentrates on organisation. the events in Kibeho and the situation in the prisons.

Letter from the Head of Humanitarian Médecins Sans Frontières, ‘Deadlock in the Assistance Coordination Unit to Médecins Sans Rwandan refugee crisis,’ report, July 1995 (in Frontières France, 28 June 1995 (in English). English).

Extract: Extract: Subject: Registration Overcrowded prisons Thank you for submitting a complete registration form and 1. The government of Rwanda, assisted by the internatio- providing relevant documents. nal community must ensure that prisoners are not subjec- The Humanitarian Assistance Coordi-nation Unit has ted to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment by keeping carefully studied the contents and are satisfied with the them locked up in overcrowded prisons. Prisoners should information provided. also be allowed full access to health care. Sufficient space We are kindly asking you to make an appointment with the needs to be created for the prisoners to live in. Prisoners Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Unit immediately should not be held for unreasonably long periods without to sign the basic agreement. A meeting should be sought trial and should have their cases reviewed by an inde- between Monday 03/07/1995 to Friday 07/07/1995. pendent and adequately staffed Commission de triage.

The Kibeho massacres 2. The Rwandan Government should implement the recommendations of the Indepen-dent International Commission In July, MSF France was the first organisation to of Inquiry into the events at Kibeho and in particular carry sign an accord with the Rwandan government. out an analysis of mistakes which occurred in the prepara- Everyone was surprised. I was on my way back from tion and handling of the closure of the camps, as well as the press conference in Nairobi on the prisons when I a thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of indivi- received a letter. We were summoned to sign. The other dual responsibilities within its armed forces and any other organisations had problems and were furious that, once factors which may have contributed to the Kibeho events. again, it was MSF France that was the first to sign the 3. Following the Commission’s recommendation, the accord. International community should encourage and assist the Rwandan Government in its efforts to achieve justice, After the signature, the Minister for Rehabilitation, sum- national reconciliation and reconstruction. moned all the coordinators and said: “Very good, MSF has signed. I received your report and found that the political analysis was highly pertinent.” He talked about the report “Deadlock in the Rwandan crisis” which included a chapter on the events in Kibeho. He said it with a certain degree of ‘MSF publishes a report on the impasse reached irony! He didn’t even attack us on the subject. This shows in the Rwandan refugee crisis – The growing just how little impact this report has had on the level of influence of extremists impedes repatriation,’ the Rwandan government. They simply said to themselves: Press Release, MSF Belgium, 27 July 1995 (in “Bah! They’re just amusing themselves!” I admired them French). because they are in a difficult situation: all the money from the international community passed through the 200 NGOs Extract: that had been set up and the government did not receive a On 22 April 1995, thousands of persons displaced from the single dollar. One day, the World Bank summoned us to say: interior of the country were massacred by the Rwandan “we would like to finance small projects for the Rwandan army when the government decided to forcefully close the people, but we would like the international NGO to set them camps in what had previously been the Turquoise Zone. up because we have confidence in these organisations: we The repatriation, which had already been extremely slow, are sure that the money will not be misappropriated.” gradually dried up as these events fitted perfectly into the climate of fear concerning the return fomented by the […], MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in refugee leaders… Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 (in French). In the absence of trials, the prisons have become overcrowded and the imprisonment conditions in Rwandan prisons are terrifying. For example, the prison in Gitarama, 114 designed for 400 prisoners currently holds nearly 7,000 this population. above all,rebuilditslegalsystem toadministerjustice order tomeettheneedsof theprisonpopulationand, community, asking it to continue providing assistance in The governmentlaunchesan appealtotheinternational temporary detention centres… decided to requisition seven sites to be converted into report submittedbythiscommission,thegovernmenthas be usedastemporarydetentioncentres.Followingthe ponsible foridentifyingunusedbuildingsthatcould - Thecreationofaninter-ministerialcommissionres - particularly theNsinda,Ngarama,NtyazoandKibuyesites. - Theallocationofsitestobuildnewdetentioncentres, prisons of Kibungo, Gitarama, Nyanza andKigali. - Enlargementofexistingprisons,ascarriedoutforthe has takenthefollowingmeasurestoimprovesituation: ted. Concernedbythissituation,theRwandangovernment and thelivingconditionsintheseprisonsrapidly deteriora normal situation,theyhaverapidlybecomeovercrowded However, giventhattheexistingprisonswerebuiltfora series of measures to improve the situation in prisons. On 3August,theRwandanpresidentannounceda and imprison those personssuspected of genocide. of theUnitedNationsSecurityCouncil,statesmustarrest terms ofinternationallawandtherelevantresolutions and adequatefundingtotheInternational Tribunal. In blish theauthorityoflawandtoprovideassistance their promisestohelptheRwandangovernmentre-esta- medical care.MSFcallsonstatestoactincompliancewith treatment, andtoauthorisetheirunrestrictedaccess prisoners arenotsubjecttocruel,inhumaneordegrading MSF callsontheRwandangovernmenttoensurethat aspects of its workdue to budgetaryuncertainties. International Tribunalhasnotbeenabletofullypursueall international legal response is hindered by inertia. The community has proclaimed the supremacy of law, the vails overjustice.Despitethefactthatinternational has placedRwandainasituationwherevengeancepre- persons. Theinefficientoperationofthelegalsystem that we have beenabletorapidly stabilise our society. have, generallyspeaking,abstainedfromvengeanceand thanks totheseassurancesthatthevictimsofgenocide of genocideandmassacresarearrestedtried.Itis lation thatallwillbedonetoassuretheauthors The newgovernmenthaspromisedtheRwandanpopu- Extract: 1995 (inFrench). President oftheRepublicRwanda,7August conditions inprisons,’PressReleasefromthe ‘The Rwandangovernmentseekstoimprove - witness and hopethat things would improve. of prisons.Attheendday,allwecoulddowasbear either askfortheprisonerstobefreedorconstruction tion”. Wewereplacedinapositionwherewewouldhaveto discussion, wecouldsay:“right,willcallforaninterven - that witnessingthetypeofeventwhere,followingalong cent.” Wehadnoidea.Itwasthereforemuchmoredifficult could we say: “three-quarters of these prisoners are inno- position todemandtheconstructionofmoreprisons.Nor build new prisons”.But it would place MSF ina difficult are tentimestoomanypersquaremetre.Thereisaneedto thousands ofpersonsinthisprison.Thismeansthatthere could say.Logically,itoughttohavesaid:“ThereareX tical pointofview,itwas difficult toknowjust what MSF itself pushedtoitslimitsininterventions.Fromaprac- would bedonefortheseprisoners.IbelievethatMSF,found to bemade. being transferredtonewcentresandarrestscontinued steps take to apply these measures. Prisoners were not The MSFteamsdidnot,however,seeanyconcrete meetings… - Itisthereforenecessarytomaintainpressureduring prisoners preparatory stagewithoutanyrealconsequencesforthe - Forthetimebeing,promiseshaveremainedata - Kibongoisbecoming a newGitarama season inthe Gitarama region - Thereduceddeathrateisprobablymainlyduetothedry prisoners toreducethepopulationinGitaramaprison - Inotherwords,therehasbeennosignificanttransferof the last few weeks: ments totheprisoners’situationhavetakenplaceover Our basic position remains that no substantial improve- the situation of prisonsinRwanda. You willfindattachedthelatestdocumentsconcerning Extract: in Rwanda, September 1994toMarch 1995 (inFrench). prisons inorder toavoidenteringintothe issue of We decidedto bear witnessonthecondition ofthe an improvementinthesituationandthatmore principle, Ihopedthatitsdistributionwouldleadto I wasnotinvolvedindrawingupthereport.But, Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator manager, 18August 1995 (inFrench). manager to the MSF Belgium programme Message fromtheMSFFranceprogramme V9 115 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

justice. We wanted to avoid being put in a situation were had nothing to do with the genocide. They included people we could be accused of being against the trial and punish- who interfered with the establishment of the new government of those responsible for genocide. That was the pro- ment, the new power base, the new authorities. There were blem in Rwanda. If you said that people should be better a vast number of personal disputes being settled, problems treated in prison, then you were seen as favouring those concerning joint ownership and the appropriation of wealth, that perpetrated the genocide. We tried to avoid the discus- all of which were dealt with by throwing these undesirables, sion concerning the true willingness of the Rwandan govern- whether bothering or bothersome, into prison, knowing there ment, and it was not easy. The Rwandan authorities just was a chance that they would die and that that would could not understand that the international community resolve the problem before the case came to court. We felt it forbade them from condemning those responsible for the essential that this aspect be highlighted because it was genocide to death, so they let the prisoners die in prison. In something that had previously been completely hidden away. the report, we attempted to avoid entering into interpreta- tions and intentions, and simply described the situation by Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF France legal advisor providing raw data and letting people draw their own (in French). conclusions. We tried to provide a highly medical and objective assessment.

Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator in Rwanda, from August 1994 to March 1995 (in French). The MSF Belgium team, which ran twenty health centres in Butare and Gisenyi districts, was trying to gain access to prisoners in ‘cachots’ where conditions were even worse than in the prisons.

It was a death sentence by any other name. In the end, we began to believe that it did not bother them that prisoners were dying by the hundreds. But at ‘Report on the Gitarama ‘cachots’ between 4 the same time and quite cynically, we asked ourselves if our and 13 September 1995,’’ MSF Belgium (in assessment did not provide them with a way of recuperating French). money to build other prisons. Was that their principal goal? It was impossible to say. But it was clear that no efforts Extract: were being made to reduce the number of deaths among the Visit dated 7 September 1995 – Nyabikenke commune prisoners. I got the impression that cynicism played a very Remarks: On 30-08-1995, a number of prisoners, apparent- important role, even though I’m not convinced that that ly five, were beaten in the ‘cachot’ by soldiers. A single was what they wanted at the beginning. They were going soldier was arrested because he had received money. One through exceptionally difficult times. They found themselves prisoner died immediately, another the following day in with 60,000 prisoners, in other words the same number of the first-aid centre, another was returned to the ‘cachot’ prisoners to be found in France, with a population 1/10th and the last one will be transferred tomorrow to Kabgayi. the size and a penitentiary capacity that could not be compared with that of France. With four or five judges, they also had a real problem of legal logistics. So it is quite easy to imagine that justice and the living conditions in prisons were not their priority, even if this meant prisoners dying. The Citizens’ Network told us that the situation in But one cannot say that it was planned. And, if I were to Rwanda was possibly worse in the ‘cachots’ than in play the devil’s advocate, it could have been worse. I feel the prisons. This is because the prisons fall under an that they fairly rapidly began to play ball, even if this just official penitentiary system while the ‘cachots’ are simply ad meant sending sick prisoners to hospital. Naturally, there hoc structures. In districts where we were running health would have been negative repercussions if they hadn’t done structures and where we thought there might be a ‘cachot’, it, but it should not be forgotten that they were not obliged we demanded access wherever possible to these units and to take this step. asked that sick prisoners be given access to the health structures we were managing. We did this in Butare where we Dr. Arnaud Veisse, MSF France physician, had ten health centres and in Gysenyi where we ran twelve Kabgayi Hospital, from September 1994 to June 1995 centres. We tried. There were days when those responsible (in French). for the ‘cachots’brought sick prisoners to the health centres managed by MSF, but I have no idea how many. We had to negotiate to get them out. In addition, the arrival of prisoners did not always take place when there was an expatriate present to see what was going on. We feel that there was a real desire to see this population disappear rather than assume the cost of the Dr. Barbara Kerstiens, MSF Belgium coordinator 116 trials. This population clearly included persons that in Rwanda, September 1994 to March 1995 (in French). incidents of this type. asked thatmeasures betakentoprevent anyfurther in ahealthcentrethe Gikongoroprefecture.He lier agroupofRPAsoldiers had openedfireonpatients med theRwandanMinister of Healththattwodaysear- On 8November,theMSFFrance HeadofMissioninfor- they did not have sufficient information to discussit. It wasupto them tomanage the situation and theyfound it wasMSFBelgiumthatworkingthere,aroundButare. sections feltthatsomethingshouldbesaidbut,aboveall, came outpubliclyinareport.Asusual,largenumberof I rememberthisdiscussiononthe‘cachots’butnothing subject. But journalists found that it was too complicated. tion? MSFcoordinatorsgavepersonalinterviewsonthis How shouldtheyberaised?Didwehavesufficientinforma- cussions astowhetherornottheissuesshouldberaised. these questions.Therewerealargenumberofinternaldis- was goingoninthecommunes.MSFBelgiumworked files concerningthesepeople?Wealsoaskedourselveswhat to happenthe‘‘cachots’?Howcouldwegetholdof prisons, the following questions were raised: what is going prisons. Whentheconditionsbegantoimproveinordinary the ‘cachots’onaregularbasis.ThenursesinButareprepa supposed tobe working inpartnership with it. is whatthegovernmentdemandedandbecausewewere ICRC. Itwasonlyfairplaytodothingsthiswaybecause at leastwehadafrankandclearapproachsimilartothatof to whatwewroteinthereports.Weshouldn’tbenaïve,but continued toarrestpeople.Idon’tthinktheypaidattention we saw.Wetoldthemwhatwasunacceptable.Butthey logue withtheauthoritiesonwhatwasgoingand to betooextreme…wetriedsetupapolicyofopendia the authoritiesandthenpublishedifsituationwasfound we triedtopreparereportsthatwouldfirstbesubmitted to theauthoritieswasobviouslyundiplomatic.Subsequently, that tomakepublicamedicalreportpriorsubmittingit state ofhealththeprisoners,commissionerfelt red inventories,reports,etc.ConcerningMSF’sreportonthe wanted toworkinthe‘cachots’.MSFnursesvisited problems incarryingoutourwork.Aboveall,we conditions were hard but which were not officially existence of police cells, guarded houses where the There wereagreatmanyrumoursconcerningthe Wh Samantha Bolton, MSF International press officer, Dr. Dominique Boutriau, MSF Belgium programme ere theprisonswereconcerned,wereallyhad East Africa, 1994-1995 (inFrench) manager (in French) - - tions, most ofwhich were FrenchNGOs. and MSFFrancewereonthelistofexpelledorganisa- respecting theregulationsinforce.’MSFSwitzerland sations, accusingthemofbeing‘incompetent’or‘not announced theexpulsionof39humanitarianorgani- On 6December1995,theRwandangovernment us from carrying outour medical role. type of event is absolutely intolerable and clearly prevents sary stepstoavoidanyfurtherincidentsofthiskind.This I hopethattheconcernedauthoritieswilltakeallneces- tures to assassinate civilians. we cannottoleratethatarmedsoldiersenterhealthstruc- tarian organisationworkingfortheRwandanpopulation, shortly afterarrivingatthehospital.Asamedicalhumani- During thetransfer,onewomandiedandanother transferred eightinjuredpeopletotheKabutarehospital. 13 dead, of which 5 men, 6 women and 2 children. We a consultation.Our team arrivedshortly after and counted army soldierenteredandopenedfireonpeoplewaitingfor centre, Nshilicommune,Gikongoroprefecture,aRwandan Monday morning,6November,intheRunyiombihealth Extract: to operate in Rwanda. (here attached) havebeenregisteredandlegally accepted 1. Non-governmental Organisations on the list in Annex A done: the workingproceduresforNGOs, thefollowinghasbeen Working inaccordancewith theregulationssetupin Rwanda. Integration hasdecidedtoreviewNGOsoperatingin authorities, theMinistryofRehabilitationandSocial Therefore, afterconsultationswithdifferentGovernment ting government regulations. having clearprogramsandexperience,orneglectofexis - because of a lack of adequate means and capacities, not cessfully whileothershavenotbeenuptostandardeither of the NGOs operating in Rwanda have intervened suc- A yearafterthedrama,itisimportanttonotethatsome Extract: L Rwanda, Kigali, 6 December1995(in English). Non-Governmental Organisationsoperatingin Social IntegrationtotheHeadofMissions Letter fromtheMinisterforRehabilitationand of Gikongoro),8November1995(inFrench). of RehabilitationandDefencethePrefect Republic ofRwanda(withcopiestotheMinisters Colonel DrJosephKaremera,MinisterofHealth, etter from theMSFFrancecoordinator to 117 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

2. Non-governmental organisations on the list in Annex B are requested to cease operations in Rwanda. 3. Non-governmental organisations on the list in Annex C MSF demands meeting with Rwandan are requested to suspend their operations in Rwanda and governement on expulsion,’ MSF France, MSF UK report to MINIREISO to explain each individual case to Press Release, 7 December 1995 (in English). assist in the process of making a final decision on them. Extract: The humanitarian organisation, Médecins Sans Frontières, has requested an interview with the Rwandan Minister for Rehabilitation in order to receive explanations concerning MSF France informed the press of its ‘astonishment’ on the expulsion of its French section. This expulsion was learning of the expulsion and mentioned that it had announced yesterday in Kigali during an impromptu press been among the first organisations to sign a protocol conference. of agreement with the Rwandan government. “We are very surprised that a part of the organisation has been expelled in such an arbitrary manner,” stated Frances Stevenson, Médecins Sans Frontières coordinator. “MSF is an international organisation. All our teams work to the same principles and apply the same policies. We see no ‘The French and Swiss sections of Médecins logical explanation for the expulsion of our colleagues.” Sans Frontières expelled from Rwanda without To date, the Rwandan government has refused to discuss explanation,’ MSF France Press Release, the expulsion with MSF representatives in Kigali. 6 December 1995 (in French). MSF is one of the largest medical organisations in Rwanda with 88 expatriates and over 1,000 Rwandans employed by Extract: MSF in its teams. In close collaboration with the Ministry Late this afternoon, Médecins Sans Frontières learnt with of Health, its volunteers work in 52 health centres throu- astonishment that its French and Swiss sections had been ghout the country and in six hospitals, providing medical expelled from Rwanda along with 37 other humanitarian assistance, assisting in the reconstruction of the National organisations. For Médecins Sans Frontières, the reasons Health Service and training local personnel. The organi- for this decision, which was completely unexpected, sation is also involved in smaller scale projects, such as a remain completely unknown. Last July, MSF was among program for unaccompanied children, and provides medi- the first associations to sign a protocol of agreement with cal care to prisoners. the Rwandan government. Médecins Sans Frontières, present in Rwanda since 1990, Present in Rwanda for several years, MSF, which remained was one of the rare organisations to remain in Rwanda in Kigali throughout the period of the genocide, has pur- during the 1994 genocide during which nearly one million sued its actions helping the populations in all Rwandan people were killed. Médecins Sans Frontières has also run provinces. a campaign to ensure that those responsible for the geno- Médecins Sans Frontières seeks to obtain explanations for cide be judged. this expulsion as rapidly as possible. Médecins Sans Frontières wishes to continue to provide its medical assistance, which is vital for the Rwandan population. MSF regrets the Rwandan Government’s sudden and unexplained change of attitude towards it and hopes to be able to open dialogue. On 7 December 1995, MSF told the press that it had demanded explanations from the Rwandan government.

‘MSF demands meeting with rwandan governement on expulsion,’ MSF international ‘MSF demands official explanations concerning Press Release, 7 December 1995 (in English). its expulsion from Rwanda,’ MSF France, MSF UK Press Release, 7 December 1995 (in French). Extract: Following the expulsion of its French branch from Rwanda, the international medical relief organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), demands a meeting with the Rwanda Ministry of Rehabilitation to have a full explanation of their arguments for the expulsion, which was announced in an impromptu meeting in Kigali yersteday. ‘We find it astounding that one part of the organisation should be expelled in such an arbitrary manner’, said MSF 118 Coordinator Frances Stevenson. ‘MSF is an international MSF France’s expulsion. The Europeanpressevokesthepoliticalnatureof MSF hasbeen active inRwandasince 1990. the perpetratorsofgenocidetobebroughtjustice. in Rwanda.Theorganisationsubsequentlycampaignedfor died, MSFwasamongthehandfulofaidagenciestoremain During the 1994 genocide when up to a million people provides medical care to the prisonpopulation. runs small-scaleprojectforunaccompaniedchildrenand Rwandan government’smedicalstaffin1995.MSFalso provided approximatelyhalfthenationalbudgetfor service, andtrainingoflocalstaff.Theorganisation cal aidsupporttotherebuildingofnationalhealth 6 general hospitals,whereweprovidemuchneededmedi- of Health,MSFworksin52healthcentresnationwideand its payroll.InclosecooperationwiththeRwandanMinistry expatriate workers and more than 1000 national staff on MSF isanimportantagencyforhealthinRwanda,with88 in Kigali. far refusedto discuss the matter with MSF representatives our French colleagues’. The Rwandan government has so and policies.Wecanseenoreasonfortheexpulsionof organisation, andallourteamsfollowthesameprinciples political will shown byboththeinternational com- Arte broadcasted adocumentaryshowing thelackof On 9December, the Franco-German television channel previous regime through its banks, amongothers. even thoughSwitzerlandhadgivenclosebackingtothe by Berne’srefusaltorenewitscooperationwithRwanda, As fortheSwiss,decisionisundoubtedlymotivated thousands and not hundredsofvictims… MSF FranceforhavingstatedthatinKibeho,therewere authors ofthegenocide.PerhapsKigalihasnotforgiven with particularemphasisplacedontheneedtojudge the awareness of public opinion and of decision-makers, have worked hard in France and elsewhere to increase hospitals. Inaddition,bothMSFandMédecinsduMonde Rwandans. It is present in 52 health centres and six The organisation employs 88 expatriates and over 1,000 overtly political:theefficiencyofMSFisknownbyall. sure takenwithregardtotheFrenchNGOsappearsbe selves questions concerninglittle-known NGOs, the mea- While theRwandanauthoritiesmighthaveaskedthem- Extract: (Belgium), 9and10December1995(inFrench). itself: Bitternessamongexpatriates,’LeSoir Colette Braeckman,‘Rwandarisksisolating its victims on thesame level. V10 attempt toplacetheperpetratorsofgenocideand by certainRwandansasa‘politicalmanoeuvre’inan The film,whichwasshotintheprisons,seen ject, whichwaspublishedinFranceatthesametime. ferm%C3%A9s&hl=fr&sa=X&ei=1b70UsfcI4Ob0QWS3YGwBQ&ved=0CEYQ6AEwAQ 9. http://books.google.fr/books?id=xOUWNAAACAAJ&dq=Maudits+soient+les+yeux+ with MSF’s legal advisor, of a book MSF France’sboardofdirectorsandco-author,along authors ofthegenocide.Itsdirectorwasamember munity and thenewRwandanauthorities to judge the been asked to wait. Wait for what? I don’t know, but I’m given inthefilm.“I’veprepared 150dossiersandI’ve brought anyone totrial? The answer is not explicitly before the court. Why hasn’t the Rwandan government physical difficulties),butnocaseshaveyetbeenbrought preliminary investigationscompleted(despiteanumberof certain persons,theaccusationsareconfirmedand the innocentsand,aboveall,bringguiltytotrial.For Kigali. Dossiersarepiledup.Heisdoingallhecantofree totalitarianism. Wefollowhimtohiswindowlessofficein to avoidhavinggivehisbackingthisdrifttowards the new Rwandan army, and chose to leave the country legal recourseandagainstthemassivearrestsofHutuby risks to his own safety, he protested against the lack of the skinofhisteeth.(LeMonde,14January).Despite a Tutsi”andmanagedtoescapethegenocidemilitiaby but he has what he himself calls “the physical traits of prosecutor. HisidentitycardshowsthatheisaHutu, The second,François-XavierNsanzuwera,istheKigali As ifthe UN werejust paying lipservice. the courts. it clearthatthesetestimonieshavenolegalvaluebefore out bothforhimselfandHistory,asthedirectormakes questioned onthehillsides.Itwasaworkthathecarried down thetestimoniesofthosethatescapedandhe ent), weseehimtypingawayonhisoldmachine,noting the “Rwandantragedy”(thatofpastandpres- Brussels, wherehewasgivenrefugeandwroteaplayon of thecountrywhen the genocidebegan.FromKigalito Joseph Matata,aHutuhumanrightsmilitant,wasout who haveprogressivelyabandonedtheirquest.Thefirst, watered downbythepragmatismofreconciliation,but strongly felttheneedtoassurethatHistorywasnot justice by tracing the footsteps of three figures who all The directorchosetofocushisworkonthethemeof Extract: French). Le Monde(France),9December1995(in explain thesilencethatshroudedgenocide,’ documentary andbookofthesamenameto Cursed be those whose eyes are closed,’ - a ‘Three figuresinsearchofjusticeRwanda: 9 on the same sub- 119 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

waiting”, explains the clearly discouraged prosecutor. 1. The NGOs whose operations are to be terminated must The third figure is Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, the accede to this instruction with immediate effect and Médecins Sans Frontières human rights specialist …. We leave the country within the seven days following this follow the lawyer through a progressive series of disap- pronouncement. They must contact the Humanitarian pointments. Her initial fighting spirit and her lack of Assistance Coordination Unit (HACU) at the Ministry of suspicion of the new government were gradually worn Rehabilitation and Social Integration to carry out the final down as she progressively realised that its desire for jus- formalities. tice was more words than action. And she found the same The 18 NGOs that must meet with the Ministry are attitude at the UN. In Kigali, the UN evaluation missions requested to organise a meeting as of today, Monday 11 saw observers arriving with their hands empty, as if the December 1995, with the office of the Cabinet Director organisation was simply paying lip service to the fulfilling (Ministry of Rehabilitation of its tasks. Able to express herself more freely than the Rwandans, Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier asked in-depth questions of her interlocutors and typed nervously on her computer. “They don’t give a damn about us”… But the director’s strongest images show the living, the On 12 December, MSF announced to the press that the prisoners – thousands of them stacked up in their cells. telephone lines of the expelled NGOs had been cut and They are shown almost as an aside to the film, as if the their bank accounts blocked. V11 director himself was a little scared. But these are the most striking, the most disturbing images and, as a result, certain Rwandans who were present for the avant-première viewing in Paris gave the film a different interpretation. They immediately deplored it as a “political” manoeuvre, ‘Expelled NGO accounts frozen and telephones repeating that it was just not possible to place the fate cut,’ AFP (France), 12 December 1995 (in of the prisoners, the presumed culprits of the genocide, French). on the same level as the fate of the progressive Tutsi and Hutu in 1994. Extract: Nonetheless, we had already commented on the over- According to a statement published on Thursday by crowded prisons and the distressing visit that took place Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF/France) in Kigali, the in January. At that time, there were 14,000 prisoners. Now international non-governmental organisations expelled there are 59,000. Back then, we couldn’t even imagine from Rwanda have had their telephone lines cut and their how they could all lie down at the same time. Now, they bank accounts frozen. are literally trampling each other underfoot… MSF-France also underlined that it had been “subject to Despite the fact that the UN and ICRC have prepared new several incidents of intimidation aimed at its Rwandan detention centres, not a single prisoner has yet been personnel and its equipment” and “that it is concerned transferred. for the safety of its teams and the retention of its equipment”… In its statement, MSF-France “deplores the brutal nature” of the expulsion to which it is subject given that “it was carrying out important measures in close coordination On 11 December, the Ministry of Rehabilitation used with the Ministry of Health to provide the populations in a statement (dated 8 December) to announce to the three prefectures with access to quality health care”. MSF- NGOs, the press and the national radio that the concer- France deplored “having received no form of explanation ned NGOs must quit Rwanda within seven days and leave as to the reasons behind this expulsion.” all their emergency equipment for the authorities.

On 14 and 15 December, the MSF International Council Press Release intended for the NGOs, Rwandan reviewed the situation in Rwanda. Ministry of Rehabilitation, 8 December 1995 (in French).

Extract: Following a review carried out on the situation of ope- Minutes of the International Council meeting, rational NGOs in Rwanda and the ensuing decision to Barcelona, 14 and 15 December 1995 (in terminate the operations of 38 NGOs in the country and French). the suspension of activities for a further 18 NGOs while awaiting subsequent measures, these NGOs are requested Extract: 120 to comply with the following: Update on the situation in Rwanda ment. pressure tomaketheMSFteamshandovertheirequip - were fruitless.TheRwandanauthoritiesexerting concerning the expulsionfrom the RwandanGovernment The attemptsmadetoobtainofficialexplanations while awaiting expulsion. only the“core”(coordination+administration)remain Kigali: peoplearetired,theteamsslowlycomingin, regime for anything outside these parameters. the humanrightssituation),withoutcriticising c) Weshallonlydiscusswhatwehaveseen(concerning expulsion through its last members present b) MSFFrancewillmakeastatementatthemomentof to act as witnesses a) MSFmustremaininRwandatomeetmedicalneedsand Conclusion: sion of all MSFteams. rumours that,inthelongterm,wouldleadtoexpul- government inplacebyassociatingitwithunfounded remain in Rwanda and that we should not denigrate the Eric Goemaereinsiststhatourobjectiveshouldbeto concept of “humanitarian independence”. that thisisaveryseriousmatterattacksthe is because we are troublesome witnesses (ex-Kibeho) and the momentofexpulsion.Heproposesthatwesayit wants ageneralagreementastowhatweshallstateat willing todefendthepositionofNGOs.BernardPécoul (with thepotentialexceptionofEngland)haveshown express itsdisagreementwiththisdecision.Allcountries trying tosendanEUdelegationRwandatodayclearly [European CommissionerforHumanitarianAffairs]is place betweenRwandaandMSFFrance.EmmaBonino decided tobuildherpresentationaroundwhatwastaking In Madrid,DorisShopper[PresidentofMSFSwitzerland] Discussion: operation in Rwanda? tude shouldbetakenwithregardtotherestofMSF must leavethecountry,whatistheretosay?Whatatti- government toattemptchangeitsmind.IfMSFFrance midday on16Decembertoobtainameetingwiththe as towhythisoccurred.MSFFrancehasgivenitself expulsion orderaweekago.Therearethreehypotheses Philippe BibersonisinKigalitonegotiate.Hereceivedan sions takenby yourministryconcerningthe NGOsworking Without wishing to question the soundness of the deci- you, not so muchasajournalist as anindividual… This isalittlepersonalnote thatIfeltshouldsendto Extract: Rehabilitation, 12 December1995(in French). Soir Letter from Colette Braeckman, journalist for (Belgium) totheRwandanMinisterof Le particularly difficult circumstances. and moral rehabilitation that you are accomplishing under and weakeningtheeffortsbeingmadeforphysical arguments ofallthosecampaigningagainstyourcountry, from the country risks troubling people, reinforcing the committed tothereconstructionofRwanda.Itsdeparture number ofpeopleviewthisorganisationasbeinghighly in providinginternationalaidmeansthataverylarge to justice,itsbattleagainstimpunity,andassistance expelled, Idoknowthatthisorganisation’s commitment While I clearly do not know the reasons for MSF being resulting disagreements. very beginningallowsittotakeapositionandfacethe I feelthatMSF’spoliticallycorrectcommitmentsincethe diction with the highest authoritiesof your country. But the reportpublishedbyMSF,whichplaceditincontra- the Rwandan population. And then there was Kibeho and is naturallyinadditiontotheworkcarriedoutalongside assist the worksof International Penal Tribunal. This Citizens Networkwhichtrainedthefirstjudiciarypoliceto financially (anddiscreetly)providingaidtotheNGO battle againstimpunityandforjusticeby,inparticular, hostage population under such circumstances, and the in the camps in Zaire and its refusal to work with the criticism ofthe“hostagetaking”civilianpopulations that contributedtoincreasingawarenessofthesituation: the wrongpoliticaltrack,MSFadoptedbalancedpositions Following this,whilesomanyNGOsfoundthemselveson April, MSF-Belgium bore witness to the killings in Butare. that “agenocidecannotbestoppedbydoctors”,whilein sound thealarmfromApril1994.MSFFrancestatedinMay sections ofMSFwere the firsttoassume positions and public but,aboveall,becausetheFrenchandBelgian a well-knownorganisationandmuchappreciatedbythe tive impact on opinion. This is not only because MSF is against MédecinsSansFrontièresriskshavingaverynega- I wouldneverthelessliketostatethatthemeasuretaken in Rwanda, which clearly depend on national sovereignty, unfriendly. He wasimmediatelyjoinedby apersonwho The ministerwas openbutserious,neither friendlynor around half an hourinhishotel on Tuesday evening. responsible forRwanda.We saw MinisterMazimhakafor support providedbyAnna-Liria Franch,theUNHCRofficer by locatingtheMinisterinGeneva, andasaresultofthe tence ofMartineLochinwho accomplishedtheimpossible gement team.Themeetingoccurredthankstotheinsis - Minister suggestedameetingwiththeMSFFrancemana - talked totheMinisterinplanefromKigaliand The meetingwasorganisedafterWouter,MSFHolland, Extract: December 1995 (in French). and SocialIntegration,’heldinGenevaon19 Mazimhaka, RwandanMinisterofRehabilitation Biberson andDorisSchopperofMSFMr. ‘Minutes ofthemeetingbetweenPhilippe 121 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

sat down with us and was presented as his advisor (I did that the Executive Assistant to the Minister was too busy not get his name). The conversation continued in English to receive them. He asked them to make a proposal on the as the advisor was not a French speaker… time it would take to leave the country and to provide him MSF is particularly undermined by this decision. Our wish with a list of equipment belonging to MSF/F… is to be able to maintain our activities alongside the On 12 December, Philippe succeeded in contacting a num- populations and to find an honourable way out of this ber of embassies and met with Mr. Kratz, European Union crisis, either by working under the Dutch or international representative. This person, who had met the Executive umbrella. Assistant to the MINIREISO Minister, told him that there The minister began by saying that until today a frank were no specific explanations for the expulsion of the discussion had been lacking and that he believed in the individual NGOs and that there would be none. A European virtues of dialogue. He knew of the excellent work carried diplomat explained to Philippe that he saw four reasons for out by MSF as well as the courageous positions taken by this policy: MSF-F on Rwanda. - for the government to reaffirm its sovereignty He mentioned certain difficult moments in the past that - to reduce the assistance provided to the majority popu- had been raised with him by the ministry responsible for lation security. It was necessary to go to the heart of the pro- - to appropriate the equipment belonging to the NGOs blems raised and MSF had the right to know what these pro- - to embarrass governments acting as hosts to those res- blems were. It is necessary to see if the negative activities ponsible for the genocide. of which we are accused are the result of individuals, MSF-F During a meeting with MDM, which was on the B list policy or the policy of MSF in general… (expulsion), we learnt that this organisation had obtai- In concrete terms, the minister had two things to say: ned a meeting with the President of the Republic and the - That issues relative to the resumption of programs must Minister of Rehabilitation. This meeting resulted in a radio be discussed with the Ministry of Health. declaration that made mention of misconceptions and - That discussions concerning an analysis of the problems misunderstandings. blamed on MSF-F shall be carried out with HACU. During the meeting between the MSF/B head of mission We are within our rights to know what we are being blamed and the Executive Assistant to the Minister of Health, the for. The minister will be back in Kigali on Thursday 21 and latter said that his ministry had no criticism of MSF from will give instructions to this end so that this work can a technical or relationship point of view and that he was be started as soon as possible. Our local representatives surprised by the decision that had been taken. He accepted (Bernard, Frances and Meini) are qualified to have these a meeting with MSF/F for the following morning to discuss discussions and will call their head offices to deal with the technical problems. problems raised and at the moment that decisions are to A request for a meeting was delivered to the office of the be taken… Executive Assistant to the Minister for Rehabilitation and We left on this positive note. He said that he was pleased Social Integration. During the afternoon, meetings were to deal with Doris and MSF International, as ‘fools’ like us held between the NGOs and HACU. All the questions and (and he picked me out) are not easy to deal with! … requests for information concerning the expulsions were My impression is that negotiations have been opened but sent on to the government: this was not the aim of the that they will be difficult and that we shall have to answer meeting. accusations concerning “state security”… Gikongoro: Bruno went to Ngara where, despite a few per- It is MSF-F or people from MSF-F that are under the micros- sons being absent, the centre continues to function. The cope and stand accused of implementing French policies. stock stored with Caritas, which is responsible for distri- No matter what the results of these negotiations, it is bution, had been redistributed among the various health MSF as a whole that will need to clearly define the policy centres and the health region. underlying its presence and its role as witness in Rwanda On 13 December, the meeting planned with the Minister of and renegotiate these activities with the government. Health was cancelled. It was impossible to contact any of the Ministry executives. We learnt that our bank account was frozen and we received no explanation. A letter was sent to the Minister of Rehabilitation asking him to resolve the situation. “Expulsion of the French section of MSF – Two out of the three office telephone lines were cut. Chronology,” MSF France Rwanda, 21 December A request for a meeting was sent by Philippe to the 1995 (in French). President of the Republic, the Minister of Health and the Minister of Rehabilitation. Extract: Gikongoro: After having been blocked in his residence for On 11 December, we received a Press Release from MINIREISO an hour by the authorities, the team arrived at Kigali at the (Ministry for Rehabilitation and Social Integration). end of the day. We continued contacts with MINIREISO and MINISANTE Kibuye: Submission of inventory and donation to the health (Ministry of Health) to obtain meetings for Bernard. He was region for the hospital and the health centres… received, along with Frances (MSF-H Head of mission) by a Antoine, the Minireiso technical manager summoned us to 122 MINIREISO representative (Jean-Marie) who informed them his office to have an update on our preparations for depar- confront the problem. position, theyavoidedusso thattheywouldn’thaveto these aspectswereconcerned.Astheycouldnotjustifytheir administrative problems.Therewasnoargumentasfar level. MSFFrancewasformallyregisteredandhadno government or which had made errors on an administrative the NGOsthathadnotsignedabasicagreementwith of expelledorganisations. On theoriginal list,therewere all MSF Francehadbeenaddedatthelastmomenttolist concerning theeventsinKibehoandprisons.Thename that we had been expelled because of what we had said managing director.AsfarasIwasconcerned,itclear already helpedrehabilitateMédecinsduMondeandknewits He toldus:“ThereisnothingIcandoforyou”.had French personrunninganNGOwhoisclosetoPaulKagame. lity than asaresultofitseyewitnessreports. expulsion oftheFrenchsectionismoreduetoitsnationa Cameron, anRPAliaisonofficer.Accordingtohim,the (MSF/F wasnotinvited),MSF/Hmetwithlieutenant Still in an informal manner, but this time without Bernard of Rehabilitation. that we once again request explanations from the Minister seemed uncomfortablewiththesituation.Herecommended Minister forYouthandSport.Hegaveevasiveanswers the formerMinisterofRehabilitationwhoiscurrently Bernard andMSF/HinformallymetwithMr.Bihozagara, Minister… we couldprobablyreapply…Weaskedhertotalkthe that thedecisionhadbeentakenatahigherleveland added thatshewasnotinpossessionofalltheelements, amount ofworkcarriedoutinthefield,etc.),Christine forward (unacceptabilityofsuchvaguereasons,thevast regards tonationalsecurity.Giventheargumentsweput expatriates hadcarriedoutsubversiveactivitieswith Reintegration. Heveryvaguelyinformedusthatcertain Assistant totheMinisterofRehabilitationandSocial Around 5p.m.,ameetingwasobtainedwiththeExecutive that thiswouldbethelastopportunityforthemtomeet… presence in Kigali,he would be leavingon 16 Decemberand Social Reintegrationstatingthatattheendofaweek Executive AssistantoftheMinisterRehabilitationand bank accountwasunfrozen.Philippesentalettertothe On 15December,departureofsixexpatstoNairobi.Our to meetwiththeMinisterofRehabilitation… bank accountwithhimandthewishofMSF/FPresident continue with other MSF programs.Wediscussed our frozen and thatMSF’sownequipmentwouldremaininRwandato ment wouldbehandedovertothevarioushealthcentres equipment. Wetoldhimthatthefinancedmedicalequip ture and,aboveall,toknowwhatweplanneddowithour Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(in French). […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in and wasunabletodoanything.Wealsometwitha Rehabilitation, butheisnowtheMinisterforSports We tried contacting the former Minister of - - a Rwandan official and lether know our point ofview. had anexplanation,andatleastIwasabletodiscusswith my minister,itcomesfrommuchhigherup”.Atleastwe saying: “In any case, it’s a decision made above the level of are the same thing as a death sentence”. She concluded by the livingconditionsinprisons,forprisonersthey to us,therewere five thousanddead, we sawthem.Asfor We aresimplyqualifyingwhatwentoninKibeho.According absolutely not,wearenottalkingaboutadoublegenocide. advance thetheoryofadoublegenocide.Isaidtoher:“No, ourselves reproachcertainhistoriansandacademicswho committed them. She answered by criticising us for what we rights remained violations of human rights, no matter who great caretoremainimpartialandthatviolationsofhuman of Kibeho.Itoldheronce again thatMSFhad always taken of whatithadsaidconcerningtheprisonsandevents could notdenythatMSFFrancehadbeenexpelledbecause although inasenseshewasourhostage.Itoldherthat there, youcanlistentome”.Sowetravelledtogether, Butare inourcarandduringthetwohoursittakestoget them goonaheadinyourcarandthenwe’lltakeyouto can’t notseehim”.Itoldher:“I’vegotanidea.Youlet was holdingherback,saying:“Philippe’s on hisway,you to goButarewithanItalianorganisationandChristophe and seeher?”AtthemomentIarrived,shewaspreparing managed togetmyfootinherofficedoor.Canyoucome Christophe Dupont,calledmefromtheministry:“I’ve all she could to avoid me. Our logistics coordinator, impose a high level of damage limitation. MSF was an impor they expelthe othersections?Becausethey wanted to the mostimportant.Probably alittleofeach.Whydidn’t Kibeho orthequestionofnationality thatwasconsidered the eyewitness reports on the events that took place in war withFrance,etc.”.SoIam unabletosaywhetheritwas ment thathaveinfiltratedthe Frenchsectionandweareat aware thattherearepeoplebeingpaidbytheFrenchgovern a great political height: “In anycase,wearecompletely because itwasclearthattheinstructionswerecomingfrom formed asinglewhole.Itwasverydifficultdiscussion cause ofMSFFrance,clearlyexplainingthatallthesections tive assistanttotheMinisterofRehabilitationplead the Frenchsectionbeingexpelled.Iwenttoseeexecu France asapretext.Ipersonallyintervenedtotryandstop to use the argument of a French military infiltration via MSF the localexistingparanoia,authoritiesfounditveryeasy was inUgandashedidnotwanttomeetme.She Minister ofRehabilitationfromthetimethatshe Although Iknewtheexecutiveassistantto Kagame said:“WeareatwarwithFrance”.So,given to playasitwasaroundthatmomentPaul I thinkthattheFrenchnationalityhadalargepart Dr. Philippe Biberson, MSFFrance President (in French). - - - 123 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

tant partner for them in the reconstruction efforts. They said Frontières’ French section were expelled from Rwanda to themselves: “as they’ve signed independent contracts, today. then they are independent sections, so let’s limit the damage Two weeks after the announcement by the authorities and not expel all the MSF sections”. At no time did Paris ask that they were closing down the activities of MSF’s French us to leave. It was very clear. I asked the question a number section and following two meetings with the Ministry of of times, but at no point was it on the agenda. I clearly Rehabilitation (Minister and Executive assistant to the remember a phone call from Philippe Biberson who said to Minister), no explanations have yet been given to justify me: “If we are really expelled, there is no way that this this measure. means we are asking you to leave. On the contrary, stay According to an evaluation carried out over the last there, it would be interesting”. Subsequently, we brought in few days, the expulsion of the Médecins Sans Frontières volunteers from the French section to swell our ranks and put volunteers from the Kibuye, Gitarama and Gikongoro pre- their foot back in the door. fectures has led to a considerable reduction in medical treatment. The medical and paediatrics departments in Dr. Eric Goemaere, MSF Belgium General Director the Kibuye hospital are almost deserted. (in French). All MSF sections are on standby awaiting a meeting with the Minister of Rehabilitation to envisage the ways in which their medical activities can be resumed in the Kibuye, Gitarama and Gikongoro prefectures.

They are French. All the French NGOs were expelled one after the other. The Rwandan authorities got rid of all the French NGOs as fast as possible. They could no longer stand the French since Operation Turquoise and all Letter from the MSF France President and the those other affairs. They really could no longer bear them! MSF International President to the Rwandan As far as I’m concerned, it is clear that the reports on Minister of Rehabilitation and Social Integration, Kibeho and the prisons clearly didn’t improve things. But 29 December 1995 (in French). in any case, MSF was quite aware that while we could have French volunteers in our teams in Rwanda, it was clear that Extract: obtaining or extending visas would be more difficult. But Dear Minister, when they showed that technically speaking, the teams Thank you for the meeting you agreed to have with us in worked well, then everything was OK… Geneva last Tuesday, 19 December… The reports were issued in the name of MSF, and in Kigali We noted that you stated serious reasons such as “activi- all the sections had their offices in the same compound and ties contrary to the security of the state” as being among shared the same warehouse. But the Rwandan authorities the motives for expelling MSF’s French section. knew exactly what they wanted to do. They had decided We also noted your strong commitment, as soon as you to get rid of the French for political reasons. They expelled returned to Kigali, to organise the meetings necessary to them and, to avoid upsetting the European Commission, the provide MSF with explanations given that, in your own United Nations, etc.. and to prove their good intentions, words, you said that we had a right to know why we had they expelled them for administrative reasons. been expelled. We discussed the possibility of taking a detailed look at Dr. Dominique Boutriau, MSF Belgium programme the accusations made against MSF and to place all aspects manager (in French) on the table. We agreed that it was not necessary to inform the press of problems that we could settle between ourselves and we believe we have respected this aspect of the discussion.

On 22 December, the last MSF France volunteers left Rwanda. In a press release, MSF France commented on the expulsion and noted that no explanations had yet been provided by the Rwandan government. We sent the teams home. The government official responsible for security said to us: “Now you all go, we don’t want to see you any more”. I told them: “I’m staying and I want the administrator to stay with me”. They accepted… I managed to stay a month to continue the ‘Expulsion of three volunteers from the French fight. Soldiers had moved into the compound. We were section,’ MSF France Press Release, 22 constantly followed and stopped for identity checks. I lived December 1995 (in French). in the MSF Holland house and no longer went to the MSF France compound. We were visited by security service agents Extract: every day. They had received an order from very high up to 124 Three members of the coordination team of Médecins Sans remove the cars. We refused to let them and they became were immediately denied by the Rwandan authorities. the theftofequipmentbyRPA.Theseaccusations France andMSFHollandheadsofmissiondenounced name oftheentireMSFmovementinNairobi, On 3January1996,during a conference given inthe MSF volunteers who were there did not say anything. to the compound and searched it from top to bottom. The they couldn’tfindusontheregularflight,wentback leaving tomorrow”.Theywenttotheairportandbecause day beforeIjustsaid,withoutgivinganymoredetails:“I’m last day,weleftonanICRCplanewithouttellingthem.The to thecompoundsay:“What,you’restillhere!”.On there withourtickets.Asweweren’tthere,theyreturned They wenttotheairporteverymorningseeifwewere your safety.” persona nongratainRwandaandIcannolongerassure Ministry ofDefence.Asfromtoday,youareconsideredas are nowdealing with theMinistryofDefence and Iam the the MinistryofHealthorRehabilitation,you was furiousandsaid:“You’vegotnothingtodowitheither fairly highlyplacedintheMinistryofDefencearrived.He ports withus…OntheMondayof last week,aperson embassy, it’sFrenchterritory”.Infact,wehadourpass- passports. Itoldthem:“GoandgetthemfromtheFrench ment. Everytimetheycametoseeus,demandedour in frontofourwarehousetopreventustakingoutequip- leave and the programs stalled. They posted two soldiers Cars fromotherMSFsectionswerenolongerallowedto In theend,theytookourcarsandblockedcompound. were around 50,000troops at that time. and thatitwasnecessarytodemilitarisethecountry.There the RPA was a large army that was becoming uncontrollable of the agents. He told me that Rwanda was in a mess, that desperate. We wereabletodiscussthings sensibly withone They intendto taketheremainingvehicles andcommuni- “There’s armed militaryinsideandoutside our compound. a formal protest to the government… Rwanda manager[…]saidit did.MSFsaiditwasmaking Asked if the confiscation amounted to theft, fellow MSF than $500,000on December 24. 16 MSFvehicles,medicine and equipmentworthmore a newsconferenceinNairobithatthemilitaryconfiscated dinator] RwandacountrymanagerFrancesStevensontold MSF France’s[AFP’serror:FranceswasHollandecoor - Extract: Rwanda from March 1995to September 1995(inFrench). […], MSFFrance Emergency cell, thencoordinator in English). theft,’ ‘Expelled aidagencyaccusesRwandanarmyof Reuters (UK),3January1995(in authorities robbed you?”,Ianswered:“what doyouwant a journalistasked: “Wouldyousaythat theRwandan The pressconferencewasparticularly moribund!Andwhen I waswiththeMSFFrancecoordinator, FrancesStevenson. interested. rence. Wecouldfeelthatthe journalists werenolongerthat added. something is done to fill the gap where MSF was,” he “The healthsituation… will eventually deteriorate unless he said. reducing health care for an estimated 1.5 million people, of Gitarama,GikongoroandKibuyeinaweek,critically MSF France had to abandon its programs in the towns expulsion. precarious healthservicefacedcollapseasaresultofthe MSF spokesmanAndreLeSagewarnedthatRwanda’s slaughter. Habyarimana, whose assassination triggered the mass France backedthegovernmentoflatepresidentJuvenal that,” she said. French feelinginRwanda–There’snothingnewabout purely onthebasisofnationality.“There’sstronganti- Stevenson said the expulsion amounted to divide and rule these reasons applied toMSF. received permissiontowork.ButLapeyresaidnoneof operated withoutsufficientfinancialbackingandhadnot last year.Authoritiesargueagencieshadbrokenlaws, genocide suspectsandamassacreofciviliansinKibeho human rightsabuses,overcrowdedprisonscrammedwith expulsions, thegovernmentwascriticalofMSFreportson Lapeyre saidthatwhilenoformalreasonwasgivenforthe remain in Rwanda. agencies. SisteragenciesMSFHollandandBelgium its internationalcompound,whichconcernedotheraid She saidMSFhasprotestedaboutthearmypresencein worrying,” she said. ment arestillinthehandsofmilitarywhichisvery to anearbymilitarybarracks.“Allvehiclesandequip- Stevenson saidthearmyhadmovedanumberofvehicles medical andlogisticstaffsalariesfor375Rwandastaff. in healthfinancingfor Rwanda plusthe jobs of 22 foreign MSF saidtheexpulsionofFranceeliminated$4million of international aid arriving. crackdown waspartlyinresponsetodelays$1.2million out andfrozetheirbankaccounts.Diplomatssaidthe Authorities cuttelephonelinesofagenciesordered added. – they’reobviously preparing toseize that aswell,”she of MSFwhichisverylargeandworthmorethan$200,000 They’ve also asked for a list of the entire pharmacy stock MSF,” said Stevenson. cations equipmentwhichbelongstotheFrenchsectionof was thelasttomakecomments,usingapressconfe- other expelled NGOs as they got off their planes. MSF Journalists hadalreadyinterviewedtheteamsof 125 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

me to say? Yes, it was deliberate theft”. Frances went even were not very surprised when we were expelled. In any case, further, saying: “yes, of course”. It was enough. The press we were convinced that we would no longer be able to work conference wound up shortly thereafter. They had what they in Rwanda without collaborating with the regime’s crimes or wanted. Shortly after, I met the regional AFP manager who in its propaganda to conceal these crimes. Personally, I did said to me: “When I heard that guy ask that question, I not feel that our expulsion was a dramatic event, but rather knew they had their scoop”. The journalists immediately a clarification of the situation. called the Minister of Rehabilitation to say: “MSF France is accusing you of being thieves. What administrative rea- Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, MSF France programme sons do you have for expelling them? There don’t seem to manager (in French) be any”. He tried to get out of it by repeating that it was due to an administrative problem, but didn’t justify it. The journalists insisted: “But surely it wasn’t necessary to steal their cars and expel them manu militari?”. In the end, they managed to smother the affair… On the same day, MSF France held a press conference in Paris deploring the authoritarian drift of the Rwandan […], MSF France Emergency cell, then coordinator in government. Rwanda from March 1995 to September 1995 (in French).

MSF Press conference invitation, 2 January I think there is a difference between the statement 1996 (in French). that one makes when expelled and what one says when it is a personal decision to leave. At the end Extract: of the day, we were being expelled and we therefore needed Following two years presence in Rwanda, the French sec- to defend ourselves and state that we had done nothing tion of Médecins Sans Frontières, which had become a wrong and that even if we were part of a French organisa- troublesome eyewitness for the authorities in Kigali, was tion, we were not tied to the French government. We were expelled from the country. The expulsion of independent obviously on the defensive given that it was not us that had and impartial humanitarian organisations, as well as the decided that we should leave. We left with our tails between large number of abuses targeting a population perceived our legs but, in any case, we would inevitably have unders- as hostile, reveal to what degree the Kigali government tood that there was no way of working in this country while has become radicalised. respecting our criteria of independence, impartiality, etc. Médecins Sans Frontières We could not have continued working like that. I think that Press conference what we had to say concerning the prisons contributed to Wednesday 3 January 1996 at 11 a.m. our being expelled because it provided the Rwandan autho- 8, rue Saint Sabin 75011 Paris rities with confirmation that we could not be controlled. The In the presence of Dr. Philippe Biberson, President of authorities understood and saw that if we were prepared to Médecins Sans Frontières and Dr. Jean-Hervé Bradol, head speak up on the subject of genocide, then we were capable of the Rwanda program. of doing so on other subjects and that, as a result, our speaking up on the genocide would no longer protect them… Our message deplored their lack of willingness to apply justice. This was diametrically opposite from their official line which was “justice for all”. I think there was a ‘Rwanda: humanitarian interventions reduced real problem there. However, with hindsight, I think that to silence’ MSF Conference Press pack, 3 when we released the report on the prisons, we possibly January 1996 (in French). made the mistake of not seeking out fairly high-level political contacts. Extract: After more than two years in Rwanda, the French sec- Nicolas de Torrente, MSF France coordinator in tion of Médecins Sans Frontières was expelled from the Rwanda, from August 1994 to March 1995 (in French). country. This decision, for which no convincing explanations were given and which was accompanied by confiscation of equipment by the army, is unacceptable for the MSF movement. Having publicly criticised the genocide in spring 1994 and The conditions were clear from the outset: either we refused any collaboration with its instigators by leaving shut up and collaborated, or we would expose our- the Rwandan refugee camps in autumn 1994, MSF is now selves to serious problems. From the moment that judged undesirable by the country’s authorities. While we decided not to be gagged, it was clear there was a fairly basing its legitimacy on the battle against genocide, 126 good chance that we would be thrown out. Consequently, we the Rwandan government, rather than seeking justice, is government’s desire for peaceful coexistence. tial humanitarianorganisationsareabadomenforthe as hostileandtheexpulsionofindependentimpar- the multipleexactionsagainstapopulationthatisseen and deathswhileindetentiontaketheplaceofjustice, While privateactsofvengeance,extra-judicialexactions function. our medicalassistance,presence,andeyewitness hundreds ofthousandsRwandansthatbenefitfrom Unfortunately, the main victims of this measure are the the FrenchsectionhasnowbeenexpelledfromRwanda. it denouncedseriousviolationsofhumanrightsthat growing intoleranceandthereignofterror.Itisbecause safety factorinaclimatethatisincreasinglymarkedby and impartialhumanitarianorganisationsisanecessary The presenceandwitnessingprovidedbyindependent tragically shown by the history of the Rwandan genocide. precondition fortheirbeingcontinued.Thishasbeen of reaction,andtheresultingfeelingimpunityisa in adeafeningsilence.Secondly,becausetheabsence because themostseriouscrimesareoftencarriedout bear witnesstotheexactionsthatwehaveseen.Firstly, the powerlessnessofUNAMIR,itisourresponsibilityto tional community”,symbolisedoverthelasttwoyearsby taking place. Faced with the indifference of the “interna- under anycircumstancesexcusethemajorexactionsnow horror ofthegenocidethatprecededthem,thiscannot by theauthoritiesshouldinnowaybecomparedwith While the serious violations of human rights perpetrated pared to bear witnessabout the fateofits populations… repression andwhichseekstosilenceorganisationspre- a government that is increasingly locked into a logic of Sans Frontières is an additional indication of the drift of population. Withinthiscontext,theexpulsionofMédecins committing seriousviolationsofhumanrightsagainstits the population.” teams heardtestimonies revealingastate offearamong an “undesirableeye-witness” in Rwanda.“Everyday,our vain”. Accordingtoitspresident, MSF-Francehadbecome to obtainexplanationsfrom the authoritieshavebeenin had been managing in Rwanda. He added: “Our efforts the continuityofactivities ofthethreemissionsit organisation hadattempted,unsuccessfully,toassure on 6December,theFrenchsectionofhumanitarian He explainedthatsincethenotificationofitsexpulsion rence inParis. silent”, statedDr.PhilippeBibersonduringapressconfe - authorised in Rwanda will be those prepared to remain “We areworriedthattheonlyhumanitarianorganisations force a reign ofterror” in thiscountry. Wednesday that he was concernedthat “silence will rein- Frontières (MSF),expelledfromRwanda,statedon The presidentoftheFrenchsectionMédecinsSans Extract: French). in Rwanda,’AFP(France)3January1996(in ‘MSF Francesoundsthealarmonsituation the people, “Biberson said. then aregimeofterror.Weareveryworried,wefearfor “We areafraidthatonceagain,thesilence…willstreng - be repeated. time.” Bothmenvoicedfear that eventsof1994could covered withscarsbecausetheywerebeatenallthe because theywereontheirfeetallday.Theirears “It wasAuschwitz,”Bradolsaid.“Prisonerscouldn’twalk – diedthere between September1994 and August1995. Bradol saidoneoutofeveryeightprisoners–902people have enoughroom to liedown. which hadbecomegangrenousbecauseprisonersdidnot MSF saidinitsreportdoctorshadtoamputatelimbs, prisoners lived insqualor in afacility designed for400. in aprisonthecentralcityofGitarama where 6,000 MSF had also written a medical report on the conditions attacks affecting thepeople we wereworking with.”… that the“realreasonwas…ourtestimonyonserious MSF PresidentPhilippeBibersontoldanewsconference for reporting atrocities committed bythe authorities. said onWednesdaythatitsFrenchwingwasthrownout Borders), oneof43aidagenciesexpelledfromRwanda, The charityMédecinsSansFrontières(Doctorswithout Extract: will inevitably and readilybeusedbypoliticians whoare the semantics of genocidetoqualifythe current regime the misuseoftermsused, knowingthatanyillusionto Reuters report on your press conference. We are amazed at As youcanimagine,wehere in Brusselsareamazedbythe Extract: and misrepresented in a Reutersdispatch. in concentration camp environments, were pickedup Rwandan prisonsascharacteristicofthosetobefound Officer describing the pathologies prevalent in the The commentsmadebytheMSFFranceRwandaDesk to amedical report. conditions in the Gitarama prison which had been subject (September 1995),aswellthedeplorabledetention by the organisation in Kibeho (April 1995) and Kanama serious exactions”,referringtothemassacresdenounced In addition,MSFhadbeen“adirecteye-witnessof English). reports,’ 1996 (inFrench). Directors of theother MSF sections,4 January MSF Belgium,tothePresidentsandGeneral Letter fromEricGoemaere,GeneralDirectorof ‘MSF saysRwandaexpelleditforatrocity Reuters (UK),3January1996(in 127 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995 MSF Speaks Out

looking for any way to “rewind the clock”. In just a few words, this has contributed to annihilating 18 months of work on the memory of the single genocide that took Minutes of the International programme place in Rwanda. Naturally, we are also disappointed that managers Meeting Rwanda/Burundi, 15 January the vast number of preliminary talks aimed at drafting 1996 (in English). the final speech that was to read in the name of all in Nairobi has been distorted by a press conference in Paris Extract: and resulted in a situation where all we did to develop Reason for protest by MSF Belgium, were the words used international cohesion and confidence is now treated with by MSF France: “second genocide”, “Auschwitz”. The press contempt. Finally, we are concerned by the way that MSF conference was done well, but we really have to be careful is now using its right to speech in such a rash manner, which words we use in front of journalists even when we confusing the role of direct eyewitness with that of being have informal talks. The mistake was made during an infor- a propagator of rumours… mal talk with a journalist. At the moment MSF does not have enough information to give credit to these kinds of allocations. MSF is less informed in Rwanda than in Burundi, there is an urgent need to work on the lack of information to analyse the human right situation in Rwanda. Letter from Dominique Boutriau, MSF Belgium MSF France states that a mistake was made, that it was a prgramme manager to other MSF programme case of misinterpretation by the journalist and that a rec- managers and MSF Rwanda, 5 January 1996 (in tification has been asked for. MSF France is of the opinion English). that although we do not have enough data to document the concern we have for the situation in the country, we Extract: still have the right to express this concern. Based on the As you might have heard, the press conferences that took information we receive from the field it is clear that the place in Nairobi and Paris on the 3rd of January have situation is deteriorating, now it is up to us to back this made us ‘pissed of’ with the words used by MSF members: feeling up with data. - Jean-Hervé’s comparison of Gitarama with Auschwitz in a Reuters report - The Biberson and Jean-Hervé “fear that 94 could be repeated in Rwanda in 96’ in Reuters report - The accusation (made by Frances Stevenson) of “theft” In the January issue of its in-house journal, which is by the Rwandese Government of the MSF/F equipment in distributed to 200 journalists, MSF France presented most press reports. its expulsion from Rwanda as the result of its role as The first two mistakes will be very much appreciated by eyewitness and noted the positions it has held on the the perpetrators of the only genocide that took place in events in Rwanda since April 1994. Rwanda (in 94… against Tutsi and their friends) as the Hutu extremists love to talk about 2 genocides. Such kind of misjudgements, even if made by “mistake” in front of journalists, shows a certain kind of “spirit” that is existing within MSF/F, which gives credit to allegations ‘Expulsion: the price of an eyewitness role – the of mass human rights abuses without sufficient MSF back- positions held by MSF,’ Messages n° 83 (MSF ground in a context where rumours, disinformation and France in - house magazine), January 1995 (in propaganda are the key instruments of the Hutu extre- French). mists. Of course, there are human right abuses in Rwanda, but according to MSF knowledge, they are not comparable Extract: with a risk of a second genocide. At least, MSF should Having been present in Rwanda for over two years, the document them… we have not done that (except Kibeho, French section of MSF was expelled with 38 other humani- Gitarama and Kanama). tarian associations. This decision, which was not accom- Such kinds of mistakes could have been avoided if MSF panied by any convincing explanations from the Rwandan had oriented its press conference to the expulsion of government, is unacceptable as the medical requirements French section, its consequences, its reasons and the remain enormous and because there are continuing viola- way it was done (as suggested by Samantha in her fax tions of human rights. on 2nd January), and not mixing it with current human MSF position right abuses… let me remind you that we have few new Between April and June 1994, MSF was, along with ICRC, objective facts for documenting that… the only NGO present in Kigali. Having reached the limits The last mistake (accusation of Rwanda Government of of what it could do, MSF publicly denounced the genocide, theft) is more a diplomatic mistake; the word “confisca- the passivity of the international community and France’s tion by the army” is more appropriated. particular responsibility. I will not bore you with the possible consequences of such Following the massive exodus of refugees and the emer- 128 mistakes on the security of our teams in Burundi… gency period, MSF decided to interrupt its activities in us that all the deaths are deaths due to poverty! the basisthatallsufferingis due topoverty,thenprove point livesarereallyplacedin danger.Ifnot,ifonegoeson exactly atwhatpointweriskgoingtoofarand words. Weneedtoknowwherewearebeingbothersome, cannot createhumanitarianareasiftheyarenotdefinedby humanitarian actionisaveryseriousmistakebecausewe since 1995,nothinghasbeenheard.Ibelievethatsilent necessary toensurethatthereareotherstalk.But, through: thosethatremainsilentmustalwaysdowhatis ment istoberetained,thenitmustlogicallycarried plementarities setupbetweenthosewhostay.Iftheargu - remain arethosethatsilent.Thereisnonewcom - when thosewhotalkarenolongerthere,theonlyonesthat we areworkingtogetherinacomplementarymanner”.But is regularlyputforward:“You,youtalk,andwestaysilent, ask oneselfexactlywhatweighttogivetheargumentthat government hasbeenefficient.Inthelattercase,onecan nothing lefttosay,orthenaturalselectionoperatedby exists. Eithereverythinghasbecomewonderfulandthereis raises itselfastoexactlywhatmarginofmanoeuvrereally organisation on whatisgoinginRwanda.Thequestion single criticismfromahumanitariannon-governmental of human rights in Rwanda. MSF nolongertookanypublicpositionsonviolations sections continuedtocarryoutprogramsinRwanda. Since theexpulsionofFrenchsectionMSF,other we hadwitnessed. mination tomakeknowntheunacceptablesituationsthat (being 902deaths),onceagainillustratedourfirmdeter- over anine-monthperiod,oneineightprisonersdied man detentionconditionsofprisonersinGitaramawhere, Similarly, in June1995,ourmedicalreportsontheinhu- vent it. without theUNAMIRtroopstakingleaststeptopre- that tookplacebeforethemofseveralthousandcivilians, tor oftheKibehorefugeecamp,protestedmassacre In April1995,ourteams,responsibleforthehospitalsec- of our work. the populationsheardhasremainedanessentialaspect Over thepreviousyear,thiswishtomakevoicesof humanitarian aid. the refugeecampsandwhosoughttoinstrumentalise tioning thoseresponsibleforthegenocidewhocontrolled Tanzania and Zaire to avoid giving the impression of sanc- Françoise Bouchet-Saulnier, MSF France LegalAdvisor Since ourexpulsionin1995,wehavenothearda ber ofNGOsmeantthatsilencefellovereverything. The problem is that the expulsion of a certain num- (in French). Kibeho events… for MSF’s“irresponsible”attitudeatthetimeof Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he was criticised the GreatLakesregionwassummonedtoDutch In 1997,theMSFHollandprogrammemanagerfor ÉPILOGUE same.” finance ourselves.Andthenexttime,Iwilldoexactly an independent organisation. If you do not fund us, we will you mustunderstand…”Ireplied:“No,notatall,weare “You mustunderstandthatwefinancedthosemissionsand sands ofthemandnot300.Thepoliticalsstartedtosay: proved thatthereweremountainsofdeadpeople,thou- pictures. IshowedthemtotheMinister—pictures your funnyreportsandtheUN—butIhave was ourconfirmedinformationandyoucancomeupwith strong andIsaid:“Iknowmyresponsibility—saidwhat internally so they decided to come back at us. But I felt very organisation —soI’msurethattheyhadsomeproblems based onyourinformation.”Theystoppedallaidtoour information likeKibeho,veryimportantdecisionsaretaken bility andyoureallyhavetounderstandthatifrelease turns shootingatus–“Youdon’tunderstandyourresponsi- people I always dealt with for funding, etc. And they took medical department,theintelligence,politicalpeople, they putusatthetablewith20peopleinfrontofus: that theysendanagendatous.Theyneverdid.Wewent, Hanna didn’tfeelverycomfortableaswell.Soweinsisted about someissues—norealagenda.”Ismelledarat. was thetopicandtheysaid:“thisisjustabrainstorming Humanitarian AffairsDepartment).Iaskedwhat ting to The Hague with Hanna Nolan (from the The Dutchgovernmentaskedmetocomeamee- Wouter Van Empelen,MSF Holland programme manager (in English). 129 The violence of the new rwandan regime - 1994-1995