Organization for Peace, Justice, and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR)
Talleyville, USA
06.25.00
The Organization of Peace, Justice, and Development in Rwanda (OPJDR) has learned that massive killings of Hutu civilians are taking place in the Eastern Regions of Rwanda, especially the Prefectures of Kibungo and Mutara. These killings are conducted by the Rwandan Patriotic Front militia, also known as Local Defense Units (LDU).
Bodies are burnt or dumped in the River Akagera. The killings, corroborated by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and witnessed by recent Hutu refugees in Tanzania target mostly former Hutu refugees from Tanzania camps. The BBC correspondent affirms seeing several bodies floating on the River Akagera on June 16, 2000.
The mass killings follow information and rumors in Rwanda, alleging that President Museveni of Uganda is training Hutu refugees from Tanzania camps in Nyakivara, Uganda.
These killings come amid heightened conflict between Uganda and Rwanda which has resulted in the death of thousands of Congolese civilians. These mass murders of Congolese Civilians were called 'genocide' by the United Nations observers. In Rwanda itself, more than 150 thousands mostly Hutu civilians have been kept in prison in inhuman conditions for more than 5 years without clear charges.
Mass killings by the same LDUs and the Rwandan Patriotic Army are also reported in Northwestern Rwanda. Recently, Rwandan government officials accused General Salim Saleh, the brother of President Museveni of Uganda, of recruiting young Hutu from Northwestern Rwanda to fight the Rwandan Government. More than a million Hutu civilians from Northwestern Rwandan are forced into concentration camps.
These killings constitute ethnic cleansing. The current Rwandan Government must take responsibility for these crimes against humanity.
The OPJDR condemns in the strongest terms the mass murders of Hutu civilians by the Rwandan Patriotic Front militia, set up by the Rwandan Patriotic Front and the Rwandan Patriotic Army.
The OPJDR calls on the international community to condemn these killings. Criminals, both militias and within the current Rwandan government and Rwandan Patriotic Army, must be brought to justice.
Felicien Kanyamibwa, PhD.
Coordinator.
Organization for Peace, Justice, and Development in Rwanda.