Rwandan genocide trials proceed at snail's pace

(CNN) -- As ethnic violence and banditry claim victims almost daily in Rwanda, the government has been struggling to try tens of thousands of Hutu extremists suspected of taking part in the 1994 genocide of more than half a million Tutsis and moderate Hutus.

Last year, the courts only tried 300 suspects. If the legal proceedings go on at that rate, it will take Rwanda's judicial authorities about 400 years to hear the 120,000 or more cases.

In Context: The 1994 genocide in Rwanda wasn't the biggest in history, but it may have been the fastest. It happened in less than 100 days. At least 500,000 people, mostly Tutsis, were killed from a population of nearly 8 million. By comparison, it took the Nazis six years to kill 6 million Jews in the Holocaust, a rate of about 2,700 people a day.

Rwanda: At a Glance

Population: 6.8 million (July 1996 est.) Languages: Kinyarwanda (official), French (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial centers Capital: Kigali Ethnic divisions: Hutu 80%, Tutsi 19%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1% Religions: Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%, indigenous beliefs and other 25% Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship) Bordering countries: Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo Life expectancy: 40.12 years Literacy: 61 percent (1992) GDP per capita: $400 (1995 est.) Unemployment rate: NA Radios: 1 per 12 persons Telephones: 1 per 480 persons SOURCES: United Nations; U.S. Library of Congress; news reports

Test your knowledge:

Take our Africa quiz

March 25 Clinton meets genocide survivors

At least 500,000 Tutsis and their allies were slaughtered by Hutu extremists in a three-month orgy of violence that ended with the exodus of millions of Hutus as refugees in neighbouring countries and the take-over of the country by Tutsi-dominated Rwandan Patriotic Front.

"The system should be reformed to enable to deal more expeditiously with all these people awaiting trial," Deputy Justice Minister Gerald Gahima said.

The prospect of living and dying in jail has many prisoners clearly worried.

"We're capable of putting up a defense," said one middle-age detainee. "If I committed genocide, it should be demonstrated and I'll be punished. If I didn't, then I should be free to work like other Rwandans."

Authorities are considering sentencing some prisoners to community service, while trying others communally in traditional courts. They also may move to swiftly execute the prisoners on death row.

But with the government burdened by the high cost of imprisonment, ministers are now reconsidering ways to speed up the trials.

"We are committed to carrying out some death sentences of the category-1 people, the category of people who were planners or who had a role of supervising the implementation of the genocide," Gahima told CNN.

Rwandan officials said human rights groups were concerned that radical reforms to speed up the trials might be implemented at the cost of defendants' rights.

More modest measures may therefore be implemented first -- such as reducing the number of judges present at each trial.

To date, about one-third of the suspects tried have received the death penalty.

Another third have been sentenced to life in prison. That means whatever reforms are implemented, Rwanda's prisons are likely to remain full for some time.

CNN's Catherine Bond contributed to this report

Botswana | Ghana | Rwanda | Senegal | South Africa | Uganda | Main  

---

Related site:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• President Clinton's itinerary

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.