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From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Jan 12 2010 - 09:09:25 EST
Tuesday, 12th January 2010
<http://www.newtimes.co.rw/print.php?issue=14138&print&article=24715>
Habyarimana
killed by his own forces
BY GASHEGU MURAMIRA & NASRA BISHUMBA
*The truth revealed in Habyarimana’s death*
• Bagosora key architect of plan to assasinate the former president
• Missile launched from Kanombe and not Masaka
•Missile used not SAM 16
• Habyarimana knew of the plot to assasinate him
• 600 people interviewed
*KIGALI *- A probe report on the downing of former President Juvenal
Habyarimana’s plane has concluded that the ex-President was killed by his
own henchmen who were against the idea of sharing power with the Rwandan
Patriotic Front (RPF).
The report says that the extremists, among them diehards of the Hutu power,
were bitter to learn that Habyarimana was finally agreeing to a power
sharing deal that would bring on board the RPF and other opposition groups.
Bitter that their grip on power was under threat, members of Habyarimana’s
inner circle popularly known as ‘Akazu’ hatched a plan to eliminate their
former boss, with the view of holding on to their Hutu-power cause.
This group was led by the key Genocide masterminds; Colonel Theoneste
Bagosora, Anatole Nsengiyumva, Mathieu Ngirumpatse and Joseph Nzirorera.
“These men were not simply opposed to a reconciliation process; they were
committed to the wholesome extermination of the Tutsis. By the spring of
1994, they had the means, and opportunity to act…and they did,” the report
compiled by a seven-man committee headed by veteran jurist, Jean Mutsinzi
reads.
The assassination plot had been hatched over a long period of time,
including a plan to acquire surface-to-air- missiles and also train an elite
group of soldiers under Bagosora’s command on using the weapons.
To achieve his objective, the report says that Bagosora who was intimately
familiar with Habyarimana’s travel schedule, changed the composition of the
Rwandan delegation to the Arusha talks and ensured that Army Chief of Staff
General Deogratias Nsabimana, a man opposed to Bagosora’s Genocidal plans,
would be on the ill-fated plane.
“In violation of established procedure, Nsabimana received his orders to
accompany the President via an unofficial channel—a telephone call from of
all people, Theoneste Bagosora—the night before the trip, the report says.
“According to members of his security detail, even President Habyarimana was
taken aback when Gen. Nsabimana boarded the Falcon-50 on the morning of
April 6th.”
The Mutsinzi reports further explains that using a parallel military radio
network, Bagosora was in direct contact with elements of the Presidential
guard, the Para-commando battalion, and most importantly the Anti-Aircraft
Battalion (LAA).
The units, it is said, were located in Kanombe Camp, a stone’s throw away
from the International Airport.
“The LAA which Bagosora personally commanded for several years was not only
responsible for the security of the airport, but had anti-aircraft weapons
stationed in the immediate vicinity. LAA personnel had received specialized
training in the use of surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) in France, Libya,
China, North Korea and the Soviet Union,” the report says.
*Direction of rocket fire*
Despite reports that plane was downed by RPF soldiers, the report which has
findings consistent with those of the United Nations Assistance Mission for
Rwanda (UNAMIR), demonstrates that the ill-fated plane was hit by at least
two surface-to-air missiles from the direction of Kanombe Military Camp, an
area controlled by Habyarimana’s own Presidential guard.
The report quotes Sean Moorhouse, a British Army Captain of the UNAMIR (II)
team as saying that; “the Rwandan President’s airplane has been shot down by
three whites with the help of the Presidential Guard and that the shots from
the weapons which brought down the airplane were fired from the Kanombe
military Camp.”
But contrary to existing allegations that the weapons used to shoot down the
plane were Surface to Air Missiles (SAM) 18, ballistics experts from the UK
commissioned by the commission of inquiry ruled that out.
*Whereabouts of the black box*
While officially releasing the report to the public yesterday, Mutsinzi told
reporters that; “there are people who got to the scene of the accident
before anyone else and most of them had military training.
“They all had their motivations and interests in the black box. The French
have acknowledged that they collected missile debris from the scene. How can
we be sure it’s the only thing they picked? The black box is there and
someone has it.”
Justice Minister Tharcisse Karugarama added that most records are with the
French government and that; “time will eventually come when they will
probably return them.”
Government’s call
Foreign Affairs Minster Louise Mushikwabo called on Rwandans and people
outside the country to thoroughly read the Mutsinzi report and desist from
making un informed opinions on circumstances that led to the downing of the
Falcon 50 aircraft.
“The Government of Rwanda urges Rwandan citizens and the public at large to
note and reject manipulation of truth and lies propagated on the plane crash
since 1994.”
“The importance of the evidence on the shooting down of this plane is of
historical importance,” she told an audience that comprised of local and
international media.
“Government urges the public to familiarize themselves with the report and
to look for responses to questions they might have with particular attention
to witness testimonies.” Mushikiwabo, who is also the government
spokesperson said.
Karugarama said that the Mutsinzi report is not a judicial document, but
that it is one that was made by experts with clear evidence on what
happened.
“Foreigners should not sit in their respective capitals and come up with
conclusions on what happened in Rwanda. We request you to read this report
and if you have any queries, they will be responded to,” he said.
Habyarimana and his Burundian counterpart, Cyprian Ntaryamira, died when the
plane they were travelling in was shot down as it approached Kigali
International airport on April 6, 1994.
The commission interviewed close to 600 witnesses during the investigations.
It also used the services of ballistic experts from the United Kingdom’s
National Defence Academy for advice and analysis.
*Ends*