Rwanda Tribunal Evidence Room Catches Fire

Rwanda Tribunal Evidence Room Catches Fire



By Associated Press

April 2, 2004, 11:03 AM EST


ARUSHA, Tanzania -- A fire swept through an evidence room at the U.N. tribunal for Rwanda on Friday, destroying computers and folders but no key documents, a tribunal spokesman said.

The fire, which began in the evidence processing unit just before 7 a.m., likely was caused by an electrical fault, said spokesman Roland Ammoussouga.

Officials were still assessing the damage, he said.

The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is investigating and trying the alleged masterminds of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, which killed more than 500,000 people.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-rwanda-tribunal-fire,0,6232123.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines

http://www.iht.com/articles/513119.html

David Bryer IHT - Friday, April 2, 2004

Never again?

OXFORD, England Ten years ago, the world's governments stood by and watched as an estimated 800,000 people in Rwanda were massacred in the space of a hundred days. Aid agencies saw what was happening, but it was in vain that we lobbied to persuade Western governments to fulfill their obligations under the 1948 Genocide Convention and intervene to stop the killing.

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Ten years on, it is sobering to reflect on what has changed. If genocide were looming today, would there be a speedier and more united response? Just as importantly, how is the world responding today to appalling and widespread attacks on innocent men, women and children? In short, is there any hope for an internationally agreed policy to protect civilians that would transcend "selfish foreign policies"?
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At first sight, the signs are not auspicious. The "war on terror" and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have consumed international agendas and resources. The controversy over U.S. and allied action in Iraq has muddied the debate over when and how it is acceptable to intervene in a sovereign country to protect civilians, in effect rendering all forms of intervention open to accusations of aggressive neocolonialism.

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On a more practical level, we need to see the provision of forces and resources on the ground that were so tragically lacking in Rwanda. Throughout the three months of slaughter, from April to June 1994, there were ample opportunities for a relatively small, well-trained force to intervene and stop genocide in its tracks. There were many proposals - not least from U.S. General Wesley Clark, who presented a plan for a small force to establish corridors of escape.

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The tenth anniversary of the Rwandan genocide will be a painful moment for millions, especially the Rwandan survivors still trying to heal their shattered lives. We owe it to them, and to those who died, to ensure that the cry of "never again" so easily and regularly uttered in the aftermath of such horrors does at last mean what it says.

David Bryer is the chairman of Oxfam International.