AS WE approach the 20th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) is winding up. There won’t be much tears shed in Rwanda when the money guzzling behemoth closes its doors, but its legacy will live on for all the wrong reasons. Apart from its foot dragging, witnesses at the ICTR will want to quickly forget their humiliating treatment at the hands of defence lawyers, who had no qualms in belittling the Genocide and its victims. The ICTR defence lawyers’ association even evolved into a fifth column of Genocide revisionists and is at the frontline of preventing the ICTR’s archives to be hosted in Rwanda. A simple logical conclusion to the fate of the archives has been flip-turned into a political joust. The archives rightfully belong to Rwanda for several reasons; Most of the material was sourced in Rwanda with the assistance of the government which helped in locating witnesses and their protection. The archives are also a vital part of the country’s history and are more of use to its nationals than a third party that has no emotional attachment to them. Bringing the archives to their natural home is a battle Rwandans vowed not to revoke, but the UN Security Council seems to have other ideas. This is the time for the UN to do the right thing – after all its historical failures towards Rwandans – by resisting political pressure and bringing Rwanda’s history where it belongs.
