ITALY/RWANDA: HUTU REBELS SAY THEY ARE READY TO LAY DOWN ARMS AND CONDEMN 1994 GENOCIDE OF TUTSIS.

Record ID: 899204

  • Title: ITALY/RWANDA: HUTU REBELS SAY THEY ARE READY TO LAY DOWN ARMS AND CONDEMN 1994 GENOCIDE OF TUTSIS.
  • Date: 31st March 2005
  • Summary: (W3) KIGALI, RWANDA (FILE - APRIL 15-20, 1994) (REUTERS) SMOKE RISING OVER KIGALI, AUDIO OF GUNFIRE DEAD GOVERNMENT SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS ON STREETS OF KIGALI BODIES IN STREET DISPLACED PEOPLE IN STADIUM RED CROSS WORKERS
  • Embargoed: 29th April 2014 01:42
  • Keywords:
  • Location: ROME, ITALY / KIGALI, RWANDA
  • City:
  • Country: Rwanda
  • Topics: Conflict,General
  • Reuters ID: LVA5F8OUX4D4852SQQU4GY8Y09T2
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Rwandan Hutu rebels announce they are ready to lay
    down their arms and condemn 1994 genocide of Tutsis.



    A Rwandan Hutu rebel group denounced the 1994
    genocide in their country and said on Thursday (March 31)
    they would halt military operations against Rwanda to help
    ease the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the region.


    A delegation representing the rebel organisation, the
    Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), made
    the announcement in Rome after two days of talks at the
    SantEgidio religious community.

    "The FDLR commits itself to stop the armed struggle.

    The FDLR decides to transform from now on their struggle
    into a political one. As complimentary measures will be
    applied, the FDLR accepts the voluntary disarmament and the peaceful return of their forces to Rwanda," FDLR President
    Ignace Murwanashyaka told a news conference.

    "From now on, the FDLR announces that it will abstain
    from all offensive operations against Rwanda," he said.

    A statement by the group, some of whom travelled from
    eastern Congo to Rome, said they recognised the
    catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Great Lakes and
    were aware of the incredible suffering of men, women and
    children in the region.

    Murwanashyaka said the FDLR is committed to end the
    armed struggle and has decided to transform their armed
    struggle into a political one.

    The group also called for an international inquiry into
    the genocide.

    "The FDLR condemns the terrorism and the other crimes
    against international law committed in the regions of the
    Great Lakes. And to underline their firm will to fight
    against all forms of impunity, the FDLR demands the quick
    opening of an international inquiry to qualify these
    crimes, identify and punish their perpetrators,"
    Murwanashyaka told reporters.

    The declaration was a first from Hutus rebels, accused
    of killing 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus in a
    spasm of violence over 100 days in 1994.

    Some FDLR rebels were members of the former Rwandan
    army and the notorious Hutu militias, or Interahamwe, which
    took part in the genocide.

    Rwanda invaded Congo in 1998, ostensibly to hunt down
    the Hutus responsible for the killing. The invasion
    triggered a wider war in Congo that sucked in six
    neighbouring countries and killed millions of people
    through hunger and disease.

    During the five-year war, the Kinshasa government
    backed FDLR as proxy fighters against the Rwandans and
    their rebel allies.

    In November 2003, FDLR military commander Paul
    Rwarakabije surrendered to Rwanda, prompting hopes for the
    mass return of FDLR fighters -- regarded as a vital step
    towards cementing peace between Rwanda and Congo.

    He has said that other hard-line rebel officers were
    preventing up to 14,000 fighters from going back.
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