“USA granted Kagame legal immunity from war crimes and terrorism”: Judi Rever

President Paul Kagame meets US War Crimes envoy Pierre-Richard Prosper in November 2003.

Dear friends,

I read and I am appalled by the international hypocrisy that has surrounded the 1990’s tragedy in Rwanda.

In her book In Praise of Blood. The crimes of the Rwandan Patriotic Front”, Judi Rever describes how the ICTR had become a surrogate of Washington and by extension, Kagame. «It had granted Kagame legal immunity from war crimes and terrorism. It allowed the killers to investigate themselves».

The attached May 2003 memo sent by the US embassy in Kigali to Rwanda’s general prosecutor, Gerald Gahima, explains what Ambassador Prosper had succeeded in doing. The memo, signed by the US ambassador in Rwanda, Margaret Mcmillion, was addressed to Gerard Gahima:

“Ambassador Prosper’s office asks that you confirm your approval of this document.”

The deal outlined in the attached document concerned the Special Investigations cases against RPF perpetrators and stipulated that:

– The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) has a list of sites where massacres may have been committed in 1994 by members of the Rwandan Patriotic Army that the OTP will share with the Government of Rwanda.

– The Government of Rwanda should have the first opportunity to prosecute such cases.

– The OTP will not seek an indictment or otherwise bring a case before the ICTR unless it is determined that the Government of Rwanda investigation or prosecution was not genuine.

– Both parties agree to identify two to three sites that will be investigated by the Government of Rwanda. The Rwandan government will conclude these investigations by the end of 2004.

This book is a must read for anyone who longs to know the whole truth about the Rwandan genocide.

Jean-Claude