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1 Pre-reading activities

The text that follows is about events in the African country of Rwanda. What do you know aboutRwanda and its recent history? Which of these statements do you think are true and which are false?

1. During the 1990s there was a civil war in Rwanda.

2. The two main tribes in Rwanda are called Hutus and Tutsis.

3. More people died in the wars in Yugoslavia than in the civil war in Rwanda.

4. An International Tribunal has been set up to investigate war crimes in Rwanda.

5. The International Tribunal is based in The Hague.

6. More than 600 Rwandans are in custody awaiting trial for genocide.

Now read the text and check your answers.

Second-class justice system

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It is eight years since Rwanda wasengulfed by genocide. Prosecutorsat the international court tryingHutu extremists who started theslaughter planned to mark theanniversary by laying bare thepolitical conspiracy behind it. Theywanted to use the trial of TheonesteBagosora, the army colonel who isthe alleged mastermind behind themurder of hundreds of thousands ofTutsis over 100 days, to blow awaymyths about the killing and drawattention to one of the 20th centu-ry's last great crimes. But, afteropening Bagosora's trial recently,the judges postponed it for sixmonths because they did not havea translation of two simple docu-ments. It was a fitting letdown for atribunal that has vainly raised somany expectations and become apotent argument for and against theinternational criminal court.

Some say Rwanda's tribunal -based in Arusha, Tanzania - laysbare why international justice does-n't work. Others claim it is evi-dence of why a standing court isrequired. The Rwanda tribunal, like

the international court tryingSlobodan Milosevic at The Hague,is an ad hoc creation of the UnitedNations Security Council. But theRwandan court has been very muchthe poor relation. At least twice asmany people died in Rwanda as inthe former Yugoslavia, but the tri -bunal trying Bagosora and hiscohorts has had neither TheHague's resources nor politicalclout. Milosevic was brought totrial within a few months of hisarrest in the Balkans. Bagosora hasbeen in custody for six years andRwandans are still waiting to hearthe case.

While Belgrade is gripped byMilosevic's performance in thedock, many genocide survivors areindifferent to the fate of Bagosoraat the hands of the internationalcourt. They have lost faith in theability of the tribunal to deliver jus-tice. Too many years of delays,incompetence and a perception thatthe court is soft on the accusedhave undermined the tribunal'sstanding in Rwanda. And when thecourt does catch public attention it

is for the wrong reasons, such asthe incident late last year whenthree judges laughed as a womangave lengthy testimony about beingraped. The judges later said theywere laughing at the defencelawyer's questions, not the victim.The genocide survivors' confidencein the court is so low that witnessesare now threatening a boycott ofthe tribunal.

The Rwanda court has had success-es. It was the first international tri-bunal in history to convict anyoneof genocide and it broke new legalground four years ago when judges in pronouncing on the guilt of aparticularly brutal mayor, Jean-PaulAkayesu - declared for the firsttime that rape is an act of genocidewhen a woman is attacked becauseof her ethnicity. That ruling waspicked up by the Yugoslav tribunal.The tribunal has also been remark-ably successful at laying its handson the main perpetrators of thegenocide, if not actually gettingthem to trial. Sixty people are indetention, including much of thecabinet that oversaw the slaughter.

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Glossary of legal terms. Supplied by the Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners

Prosecutor a lawyer whose job is to prove in court that someone accused of a crime is guilty

Trial the process of examining a case in a court of law and deciding whether someone is

guilty or innocent.

Alleged claimed to be true, even though this has not been proved

Tribunal a special law court organized to judge a particular case

In custody a situation in which someone is kept in prison until they go to court for trial

Case a legal matter that will be decided in a court

The dock the part of a court of law where the person who is accused of a crime stands or sits

The accused someone who is accused of a crime in a court of law

Testimony a formal statement about something that you saw, know, or experienced, usually

given in a court of law

Ruling an official decision made by a court or by someone in a position of authority

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The then prime minister, JeanKambanda, was persuaded to pleadguilty to genocide.

But justice has been so long incoming - only eight people havebeen convicted so far - and is sodistant for the survivors andRwandans in general that it is ofmarginal consequence to many ofthem. One of the original conceptsof the court was that it would playa central role in promoting recon-ciliation and decent government inRwanda by establishing that eventhe most powerful could not escapejustice and by exposing the lies that

fuelled the hatreds and fears thatmake genocide possible. The courthas been plagued by difficultiessince its inception seven years ago,most notably mismanagement,underfunding, corruption, internalpolitics and racial tensions betweenWestern prosecutors and Africantribunal managers.

It is probably all too late. The tri-bunal's chance to influence theshape of post-genocide Rwanda hasgone. It is doubtful that the dis-pensing of international justice onAfrican soil for the first time haspersuaded other extremists to mod-

erate their behaviour. Instead, thegenocide's survivors often findmore reasons for bitterness at thetribunal's activities than hope forjustice. They resent the fact thatKambanda and Bagosora, in jail,are in better accommodation thanmany survivors - and that the inter-national court can impose a maxi-mum life sentence, while thosewho carried out their orders, ontrial in Rwandan courts, could facea firing squad.

THE GUARDIAN WEEKLY 18-4-2002,PAGE 11

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2 Comprehension

Choose the best answer for each question. Each question refers to one paragraph.

1. Why was the trial of Theoneste Bagosora postponed?

a. There was no evidence

b. Some documentation was missing

c. He was not the mastermind behind the killings

2. Why has it taken so long for the case of Bagosora to come to court compared with the case ofSlobodan Milosevic?

a. There was more political will to try Bagosora

b. More people died in Yugoslavia

c. The Milosevic trial has more resources and more political will

3. What is the attitude of many genocide survivors to the Bagosora trial?

a. They are gripped by it

b.They oppose it

c. They dont care about it

4. What are the three major successes that have been achieved by the Rwanda court?

5. In paragraph 5, find 6 reasons why the Rwanda court has been plagued by difficulties.

6. Why are the genocide survivors bitter about the activities of the tribunal?

a.The tribunal has not curtailed ethnic attacks.

b.The accused live in better conditions than many of the survivors.

c. Extremists have not modified their behaviour.

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3 Vocabulary

Matched the words in the left-hand column with the definitions in the right-hand column:

1. engulfed a. suitable

2. to lay bare b. to limit

3. fitting c. unplanned

4. ad hoc d. significantly

5. tellingly f. endless

6. chaotic g. to expose

7. to curtail h. insignificant

8. interminable i. very disorganised

9. marginal e. covered

4 Word Partnerships

1. In 1994 Rwanda was engulfed a. boycott the tribunal

2. They want to draw b. expectations

3. The tribunal has raised c. of genocide

4. Milosevic was brought d. by genocide

5. The tribunals standing has been e. to genocide

6. Witnesses are threatening to f. attention to the slaughter

7. The ex-prime minister pleaded guilty g. undermined

8. Only eight people have been convicted h. to trial very quickly

5 Metaphor and phrasal verbs

Match the definitions below with phrases or words from the passage.

1. To make something known that has been hidden or secret.

2. To do something completely different from what has been done before

3. A disappointment.

4. To disprove something that people wrongly believe to be true

5. To watch something in order to check that it works or happens in the way it should

6 Discussion

Should those responsible for war crimes in civil wars be tried by International Courts and tribunals or

by the courts in their own countries?

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KEY

1. 1 True 2 true 3 false 4 true 5 false 6 false

2. 1 b 2 c 3 c

4 It was the first tribunals in history to convict anyone of genocide.It declared for the first time

that rape can be an act of genocide. It has been very successful in arresting the main perpetrators

of the genocide

5 Mismanagement, underfunding, corruption, internal politics, racial tensions,

chaotic prosecution

6 b

3. 1 e 2 g 3 a 4 c 6 d 7 i 8 b 9 f 10 h

4. 1 d 2 f 3 b 4 h 5 g 6 a 7 e 8 c

5. 1 To lay something bare

2 To break new ground

3 A letdown

4 To blow away myths

5 To oversee

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