Rwandans protest over spy chief’s arrest in Britain

KIGALI: Thousands of Rwandans protested outside the British embassy in Kigali yesterday against Britain’s arrest of Rwanda’s intelligence chief, hours before he was due to appear in court in London in connection with war crimes charges brought by Spain.

Rwanda’s government has said it was an “outrage” to detain Karenzi Karake, 54, director general of Rwanda’s National Intelligence and Security Services, at Spain’s request and that it would challenge the charges against him.

Western nations, Rwanda said, were swayed by those behind the 1994 genocide in which 800 000 people were killed, mostly minority Tutsis as well as moderates from the Hutu majority.

The country has long accused the West of doing too little to halt the genocide and then not doing more about groups such as the FDLR, a Hutu militia implicated in the killings and blamed by the UN and rights groups for atrocities in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“Africa say No to Western neo-colonialism justice,” read one placard held up by protesters. “Stop confusing the world on genocide,” said another.

Some of those at the rally were schoolchildren. One 17year-old said he had been told to attend. “When I reached the school in the morning, the head teacher called us when we were in class and at assembly, he told us to come to protest,” he said. “I didn’t know Karake but I came to know about him today.”

Rwandan news websites showed images of protests in the north and eastern regions of the small country.

Protests were also held on Wednesday outside the embassy, blocking the road.

The case may further strain ties between Rwanda and aid-donor Britain after Kigali suspended a local BBC radio serv- ice last year following a documentary by the British broadcaster that questioned official accounts of the genocide.

The British government has said Karake’s arrest was a legal obligation based on a valid European arrest warrant. It has said it wants to maintain close ties with Rwanda.

“There are currently crowds of protesters around the British High Commission in Kigali. You should remain vigilant if you are in the area,” Britain’s Foreign Ministry said in an advisory to its citizens.

In 2008, a Spanish High Court judge accused 40 Rwandan military and political leaders, including Karake, of engaging in reprisal killings after the genocide.

The judge indicted the officials for genocide, crimes against humanity and terrorism that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, including Spaniards. – Reuters