Defence in Rwanda genocide case: defendant understood events late

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A Rwandan man who is on trial in the Finnish city of Porvoo for alleged involvement in the genocide in his country says that he understood at a fairly late stage what the clashes in his community of Nyakizu in the spring of 1994 were all about.
      The defence presented its case during an ongoing trial in Porvoo on Wednesday.
      The defendant denies that he was present during any killings. The defence contends that he was in hiding when the genocide began.
      According to the defence, the nature of the events became apparent when a local agricultural advisor came to knock on the door and said that Tutsis were being killed in the village simply because they were Tutsis.
      Until then he had thought that there was fighting in the village because the Tutsis’ RPF organisation had attacked.
     
The defence and prosecution have argued over whether or not there was a war in Nyakizu. The prosecution maintains that the war was elsewhere, in the north of the country.
      The Hutu administration, which was in power in Rwanda at the time, put out propaganda saying that the country was at war with the RPF. The prosecution in the trial in Porvoo says that the administration wanted to reinforce its position by inciting hatred against the Tutsis.
     
Prosecutors say that the defendant was involved in disseminating talk of war, with which those taking part in the massacres sought to justify the killing of Tutsis. The prosecutors claim that the man led the killings in his local community.
      The defence emphasises that the state of war in Rwanda is a historical fact. The defence maintains that in the region people were quite genuinely of the opinion that the community had been taken over by the RPF, because this is what the RPF claimed in its radio broadcasts.
      The defence argued that there were fears in the community that the RPF would come and kill Hutu civilians. When clashes broke out in the area, the defence maintains that the defendant shut himself up inside his house, thinking that the RPF had attacked.
      According to the defence, when the man understood that Tutsis were being killed, the he fled his home with his family. The defence also says that there was talk in the village that he was hiding Tutsis.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Genocide trial opens: defence motion to disqualify judge denied (1.9.2009)
  Rwandan man accused of genocide says he tried to save Tutsis (17.6.2009)
  Porvoo court to travel to Rwanda to hear testimony (8.6.2009)
  Police suspect Rwandan-born Porvoo resident took part in 1994 genocide (5.2.2009)

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