ICTR pledges to finish remaining cases at Arusha before 2009 and denies appeal in Munyakazi transfer

ICTR pledges to finish remaining cases at Arusha before 2009 and denies appeal in Munyakazi transfer

BY GEORGE KAGAME


As if it was not predictable enough to read during the week that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Appeals Chamber had rejected the prosecution plea appealing the earlier decision of the court denying the transfer of genocide suspect Yusuf Munyakazi to Rwanda, a commission set up in Kenya to study the violence which followed presidential elections in that country suggested-as one of its recommendations that an international tribunal be set up to investigate the outcome of the election violence which led to the death of 1500 Kenyans.

Not to be outdone in the race for dramatic news the ICTR said that they would pass rulings in 38 cases, the Arusha based court is remaining with. The president of the court Judge Dennis Byron made the serious pledge while addressing the UN Security Council, he was presenting the 13th completion strategy report of the ICTR to the UN Security Council.
Byron said his fellow judges had decided to finish all the remaining cases at the court before its mandate slated for 31-December-2009.
The news is dramatic because for the past 14 years, the ICTR has only been able to complete only 36 cases.

Rwanda's move towards the good governance platform is in full gear, if Transparent International are to be believed. In their recent index of corruption tendencies, upon which countries are rated according to their efficiency in the fight against the vice said Rwanda along with Tanzania had improved positions currently sitting in 102 position out of 180 countries surveyed.
The ratings are released annually and and are an important factor for international investors before committing their money in specific countrues.


Still talking figures and policies, Rwanda and other developing countries will not face the immediate repercussions of the global financial crisis currently causing the collapse of banks and other financial institutions in the US and Europe, opined John Rwangobwa.
The Secretary General in the Ministry of Finance and secretary to the national treasury John Rwangomba said while commenting during the week on the current crisis in the US financial market and its relevance to Rwanda and other developing countries-which heavily rely on western donor aid mostly from the US.

Matters of development and financing dominated news in the week, Washington was also the venue hosting The World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual general meeting of central bank governors, the govenors along with the World Bank president Robert Zoellick were mainly discussing the crisis currently prevailing in international stock markets in the West.
Rwanda was represented at the meeting by Francois Kanimba.


Addressing the governors, Robert B. Zoellick, said that the world is currently at an extraordinarily difficult time - a time of uncertainty and insecurity, with a danger that fears posed by the financial crisis push the global economy away from - not towards - a more inclusive and sustainable globalization.
He said that 2008 was a precarious year worsened by a meltdown in financial, credit, and housing markets on top of the continuing stress of high food, fuel, and commodity prices. Since the beginning of the year, there have been violent protests in South Africa, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Chile and Kenya with citizens protesting against central governments for high costs of food items and fuel.
While the big boys of international relations were occupied with finance matters which many in the developing countries don't even understand, aid organizations reminded the world that the continually raising cost of living was a problem worth equal attention as the stock exchange markets.
The figures Oxfam- a leading aid organization from Britain released during the week told of 900 million people in poor countries on the verge of facing starvation.

Of good fortune at the start of the week is that Rwanda along with Morocco progressed to the third round qualifying stage of the World Cup/African Nations' Cup, Senegal and South Africa are among the big absentees from the this round, while other countries' failure will cause anger and remorse-like the case was with Senegal where fans destroyed cars and streets-South Africa will face the humiliation more bacause they will host the World Cup in 2010, ironical to fail appearing at the African Nations' Cup and host a World Cup