Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch



Welcome to
Africa Great Lakes Democracy Watch Blog. Our objective is to promote the institutions of democracy,social justice,Human Rights,Peace, Freedom of Expression, and Respect to humanity in Rwanda,Uganda,DR Congo, Burundi,Sudan, Tanzania, Kenya,Ethiopia, and Somalia. We strongly believe that Africa will develop if only our presidents stop being rulers of men and become leaders of citizens. We support Breaking the Silence Campaign for DR Congo since we believe the democracy in Rwanda means peace in DRC. Follow this link to learn more about the origin of the war in both Rwanda and DR Congo:http://www.rwandadocumentsproject.net/gsdl/cgi-bin/library


Friday, September 17, 2010

French experts wind up plane crash probe in Kigali



French anti-terrorist judge, Marc Trevidic (L), speaks to a member of his team as he conducts his investigation in the outskirts of Kigali on September 16, 2010 on the circumstances of the death of Rwanda's former president Juvenal Habyarimana in 1994.
 

French anti-terrorist judge, Marc Trevidic (L), speaks to a member of his team as he conducts his investigation in the outskirts of Kigali on September 16, 2010 on the circumstances of the death of Rwanda's former president Juvenal Habyarimana in 1994.

Photograph by: Marc TERRILL, AFP/Getty Images

KIGAL - French experts probing the 1994 downing of a plane carrying Rwanda's then president Juvenal Hbyarimana on Friday wound up their task of hearing witness testimonies and visiting key Kigali sites.
The five-member team including two anti-terrorism judges — Marc Trevidic and Nathalie Poux — surveyors, ballistics, explosives and fire experts sought to determine the origin of missiles that downed the plane.
Habyarimana Juvenal
Pre-genocide Hutu extremists and Tutsi rebels are both suspected of being behind the April 6, 1994 shooting of the Falcon 50 craft.
The French team, which arrived in Kigali on Saturday, suspect a commando unit of Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) rebels of infiltrating the Rwandan Hutu army and firing two missiles from Masaka hill east of the runway where the plane was coming in to land.
However, the RPF government now in power in Kigali blames the attack on Hutu extremists within the FAR seeking to eliminate Habyarimana in order to launch a coup.


According to a Rwandan report, backed up by a ballistic survey conducted by British experts, the missiles were fired from the Kanombe military camp, a big army base adjoining the airport and the presidential residence.
"The experts could not reach any conclusions at this stage because they gathered a lot of information throughout the week which they will have to analyse," Leon-Lef Forster, a defence lawyer for three Rwandan officials targeted in the probe, told AFP.
The killing of Habyarimana, who was travelling with his Burundian counterpart Cyprien Ntaryamira, is believed to have triggered the 1994 genocide which claimed the lives of some 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus.
The two were returning from a summit in neighbouring Tanzania to revamp a 1993 peace deal aimed at setting up a transitional government and integrate the RPF rebels.
The French team is expected to present its report to the two judges before March 2011.


Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/French+experts+wind+plane+crash+probe+Kigali/3539737/story.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+canwest%2FF229+%28Vancouver+Sun+-+News#ixzz0zoeJQMaK
Enhanced by Zemanta

No comments: