Rwanda genocide survivors association, locally called IBUKA, has commended the recent deportations and extraditions of genocide fugitives to Rwanda.
The latest to be deported is Jean Claude Henri Seyoboka, deported from Canada, on Friday morning while Jean Claude Iyamuremye, and Jean-Baptiste Mugimba were extradited from the Netherlands, last weekend.
Earlier, Leopold Munyakazi was deported from the United States.
The quartet had fought legal battles against their deportation for years.
They will now stand trial for crimes they are accused of committing in Rwanda during the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.
Seyoboka is accused of participating in extermination of more than 72 Tutsi who had sought refuge at a former African languages school in Kigali (CELA), and shooting Tutsi in various places in the then Rugenge sector of Kigali.
“Jean Claude Seyoboka will be tried for genocide, extermination and murder as crimes against humanity that took place in Nyarugenge-Kigali City, where he participated in meetings that planned killings,” Rwanda’s prosecution said Thursday.
In a statement Friday, IBUKA President Prof. Jean Pierre Dusingizemungu said “Genocide survivors welcome these deportations and extraditions because they are critical for justice. They are also important for national healing because there is no reconciliation without justice. We applaud this demonstration of international solidarity and trust in the fairness of the Rwandan judicial system.”
He urged other countries hosting genocide suspects to follow suit.
“However, other genocide perpetrators continue to live freely in different countries especially in France. These countries have to follow the example of Canada, the Netherlands and the United States, and cooperate with the government of Rwanda to bring genocide suspects to justice, whether in Rwanda or wherever they live today. To do this would uphold the dignity of the victims.” he said.
IBUKA is the umbrella body of organizations representing genocide survivors in Rwanda. Its mission is to promote the welfare of survivors of the genocide against the Tutsi, preserve the memory of the victims, combat genocide denial and uphold justice.
About one million people were killed in the genocide that lasted 100 days.
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