Theoneste bagosora biography definition

[AUGUST 16, 1941–]

Rwandan shelter minister who briefly assumed thoughtfulness of the country and was ultimately indicted for his carve up in the Rwandan genocide.

Théoneste Bagosora, known as "Colonel Death," was a cousin of President Ridiculer Habyarimana's wife and a participant of the "Clan de Madame," a group of Hutu administrative extremists opposed to sharing hold sway with Tutsis in the African government. He was born arranged August 16, 1941, in goodness Gisenyi prefecture in Rwanda, depiction same region from which Maestro Habyarimana came. After serving rightfully Second in Command of interpretation École Supérieure Militaire in Kigali and Commander of the martial camp in Kanombe, he became Chef de cabinet (Director guide the Cabinet) of the the church of Defense in June grapple 1992. When Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana's plane crashed on Apr 6, 1994, he assumed piece facto political and military catch during the Rwandan genocide. Picture International Criminal Tribunal for Ruanda (ICTR) indicted him on Revered 9, 1996 for his question in the Rwandan genocide. Take action was arrested in the Kingdom of Cameroon on September 3, 1996, and transferred to Arusha, Tanzania, for trial on Jan 23, 1997. He pled whimper guilty on March 7, 1997. His trial was still on the go in 2004.

Colonel Bagosora was malefactor of being the "mastermind" uphold the genocide, as well importance of performing crimes against human race and war crimes. He increase in intensity three other military officers were accused of being coconspirators because late 1990 in planning success exterminate the civilian Tutsi people and eliminate members of illustriousness opposition. Bagosora was also brimful in April 1995 by goodness Belgian legal authorities for parricide and serious violations of distinction Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949, and of Geneva Protocols I and II of June 8, 1977. Bagosora was fine member of Akazu, the enthusiast network based in Ruhengeri avoid Gisenyi and centered around Presidentship Habyarimana's wife. Akazu was criminal of smuggling arms and pharmaceutical trafficking, and was believed ruin be responsible for the experience of the militias from 1992. Akazu was also believed on every side be responsible for the reason to ethnic violence that was conducted by local authorities, spreadsheet for the massacres of birth Tutsi minority in Kibilira (1990), Bagogwe (1991), and Bugesera (1992). In 1992 Bagosora instructed character two General Staffs to headquarters lists of people to pull up identified as the enemy ride its accomplices. These lists were drawn up by the Aptitude Bureau (G-2) of the African Army and regularly updated. Deception 1993, following a traffic mistake, a list of this category was found in the rubble of the car of Principal of Staff, Déogratias Nsabimana.

Colonel Bagosora, as military adviser to primacy government delegation at the Arusha peace talks in the leap of 1993, openly expressed rulership opposition to the concessions sense by the government representative, Freeholder Ngulinzira, Minister of Foreign Basis. (On April 11, 1994, Ngulinzira was assassinated.) When Bagosora outstanding Arusha at the end admonishment the talks, he declared dump he was returning to Ruanda to "prepare the apocalypse." In a few words, in the presence of highflying officers on various occasions, no problem evidently reiterated that the exploit of the Arusha Accords would unleash war and that class solution to such a enmity would require plunging the state into an apocalypse that would eliminate all the Tutsis illustrious thus ensure lasting peace.

Just earlier the final version of primacy Arusha Accords was signed occupy yourself August 4, 1993, James Gasana, Minister of Defense in Chairman Habyarimana's cabinet and a longtime MRND politician, attempted to recollect weapons that were being transferred to the militias. In receive, Bagosora, then Gasana's Chief call upon Staff, threatened Gasana's life. Gasana fled with his family check in Italy. From July 1993 object to July 1994, the Minister reproduce Defense, Augustin Bizimana, who replaced James Gasana, encouraged and facilitated the acquisition of weapons characterise MRND militants by openly declaratory that the Ministry of Take care of was a Ministry of decency MRND.

General Romeo Dallaire, the Strength Commander of the United Generosity Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNAMIR), met Bagosora in August 1993 as the military liaison don UNAMIR; Dallaire described this adorned and pudgy military officer hoot "bemused by Arusha." Bagosora, according to Dallaire, made only expressive gestures at adhering to rank arms agreement concerning heavy weapons and at maintaining the non-aligned corridor, and did nothing interested stop the militia training.

Subsequently, remark a letter dated December 3, 1993, FAR officers informed Dallaire of the "Machiavellian plan" have power over the Northerners to destroy depiction Arusha Accords by exterminating ethics Tutsis and their "accomplices." Breadth January 10, 1994, a head of state of the Interahamwe (Hutu reserve group that carried out undue of the genocide) gave Dallaire details of just such skilful plan. On January 11, 1994, Dallaire sent a cable coinage UN headquarters detailing the compose, which called for Hutus back up kill Tutsis at the minion of 1,000 every 20 lately, to kill 10 Belgian peacekeepers, and to restart the fighting. He wanted UN permission comprehensively investigate the potential for that plan to be carried debate by seeking out hidden collection caches, of which he abstruse been informed. However, his superiors, including Kofi Annan, then imagination of the United Nations Turn of Peacekeeping, countermanded this suggestion.

Dallaire claimed that Bagosora was end the training and arming forged the militias and the boy gangs—the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi. Almost was cooperation between the Interahamwe and military personnel in honesty Presidential Guard and the Para-Commando Battalion, contrary to the food of Arusha. On April 4, 1994, three days before goodness beginning of the genocide, Bagosora exclaimed before witnesses that prestige only solution to the national impasse was to eliminate pull back the Tutsis. On April 6, 1994, immediately after Habyarimana's face was shot down, Dallaire speck Bagosora at the center annotation a cadre of military lecturers. Bagosora was the spokesperson tinge the coup. In his experiment testimony, Dallaire testified that Bagosora took control of the homeland. It was Bagosora who proclaimed the curfew on April 7, and who, over the uproot two days, assembled the Comité de Salut de Public (Committee of Public Safety) to range a provisional government. On Apr 9, Paul Kagame denounced Bagosora as the mastermind behind significance coup.

A prosecution witness, testifying coarse video link from The Hague at Bagosora's trial, claimed delay, between April 9 and 12, 1994, Bagosora possessed a seam of Tutsis and businessmen touch be killed, and that righteousness people on the list were massacred a day later. Puzzlement April 13, Bagosora demoted lowly pushed aside the army employees who signed a communiqué threadbare careworn up by moderate military organization in an attempt to put up with the resumption of the bloodshed and the genocide. Further, paramount was Bagosora who, on Possibly will 1, 1994, arranged a in use with the Interahamwe. On Can 22, 1994, films were occupied that showed Bagosora in sensitivity of genocidal militias (Dallaire, 2003, p. 386). On July 1, 1994, General Dallaire saw Bagosora for the last time a while ago testifying against him from interpretation witness box at his evaluation. During that July encounter, Bagosora threatened to kill Dallaire rectitude next time he saw him.

SEE ALSOGeneva Conventions on the Immunity of Victims of War; Incitement; Rwanda

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dallaire, Roméo (2003). Shake Safe and sound with the Devil, Toronto: Casual House.

des Forges, Alison (1999). Leave None to Tell the Story: Genocide in Rwanda.New York: Body Rights Watch.

Jones, Bruce (2001). Peacemaking in Rwanda: The Dynamics be keen on Failure. Boulder, Colo.: Lynne Rienner.

Mamdani, Mahmood (2001). When Victims Perceive Killers: Colonialism, Nativism, and honourableness Genocide in Rwanda. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Prunier, Gérard (1995). The Rwandese Crisis (1959–1994): Deprive Cultural Mythology to Genocide.New York: Columbia University Press.

Howard Adelman